a5c7b9f00b Follows a Palestinian leader who unites Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in an unarmed movement to save his village from destruction. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter jumps into the fray. Yet another clear-eyed, intelligent and affecting documentary on the heartbreaking, seemingly endless conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. <br/><br/>In this case the subject is the title town, where the Israelis – for seemingly no good reason – have decided to erect their &#39;wall of separation&#39; not along the natural green line border outside the enclave, but cutting right through the heart of this small rural town, dividing the cemetery, and forcing the digging up of farmland and ancient olive trees that provide many in the town with their only income. Whether ignorance, political strategy or simple cruelty on the part of the Israeli government is never really explained (a slight weak spot in the film). <br/><br/>But the film is detailed and insightful in tracing how the townspeople - led by soft-spoken community organizer Ayed Morrar - stand up to the mighty Israeli border army in a non- violent way, eventually earning supporters from around the world including younger liberal Israelis, who come and join in the protests, so the conflict evolves from Arab against Jew into human beings against the army and cold, indifferent bureaucracy. Perhaps in that re- alignment lies the seeds of a human solution for the larger conflict that the people of both sides can not only accept, but even embrace. In this beautifully structured documentary, the viewer follows the people of Budrus from the timeless beauty of their olive groves into the line of Israeli fire,tension builds and culminates in dramatic conflict between a steadily growing group of unarmed protesters, and the bulldozing Israeli Defense Force. <br/><br/>Although it would be justifiable to tell this story solely from a Palestinian vantage point, the filmmakers lend even more credibility to the voice of Ayed Morrar, the film&#39;s Palestinian protagonist, by respectfully and thoroughly presenting Israeli points of view throughout the film. Soldiers, captains, newscasters and politicians weigh in from the other side of the &quot;wall-in-progress&quot;, while back in Budrus - a heroine emerges. Morrar&#39;s 15 year old daughter Iltezam is caught on camera jumping into a bulldozer&#39;s newly dug pit, to prevent the uprooting of yet another olive tree,her voice-over describes what was going through her head: &quot;what can one person do?&quot; This heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting documentary answers that impossible question, by demonstrating the power of peaceful resistance - even in the face of seemingly never ending aggression.
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