Hikayat al-jawaher al-thalatha
Palestine / Belgium / England,
1995, 112 min
Shown in 1996
CREDITS
- dir
-
Michel Khleifi
- prod
-
Michel Khleifi, Omar Al-Qattan
- scr
-
Michel Khleifi
- cam
-
Raymond Fromont
- editor
-
Ludo Troch, Marie Castro
- cast
-
Mohammad Nahhal, Haná Né meh, Ghassan Abu Libda, Makram Khouri, Bushra Qaraman
- source
-
Celluloid Dreams, 24, rue Lomartine, 75009 Paris, France. FAX: 33-1-49-70-03-71. EMAIL: celluloid@i-t.FR
OTHER
Youssef is a 12-year-old Palestinian Arab boy with a father in jail and a fugitive brother wanted by the Israeli Army. He lives with his mother and sister in the Gaza Strip, where fractured households are commonplace among his circle of friends. With violence, discord and repression suffocating his physical world, Youssef roams freely in his fertile imagination. One day he meets Aida, a young Gypsy leader of a gang of kids. To win her love, he must find three lost diamonds from a family necklace brought back from South America by the girl’s grandfather. His search for a means of transport to this faraway land becomes a mystical pursuit that leads him to a wise old man, a mysterious scroll, death and resurrection. As our hero learns how real values surmount temporal realities, this modern tale releases a gentle sigh on the magic of young love. Though the lethal political climate colors the setting, Arab-Israeli issues play a minor role. Instead, the film’s overpowering qualities stem from the humanity of the people and the innocence of the children caught in this strife. Writer/director Michel Khleifi depicts how natural elements and imagination liberate people from the political, religious and military ideologies continually taking them hostage.
FACTOID #188
According to an item in the 1969 Halloween edition of the Hollywood Reporter, Swedish director Bo Widerberg cancelled a Festival tribute at the last minute with a cryptic telegram from Stockholm that read, ’Sorry impossible to come. Must stay in bed.’
