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Home   »   Film-of-the-Month Club   »   Our Films   »   A BOTTLE IN THE GAZA SEA

A BOTTLE IN THE GAZA SEA

Directed by Thierry Binisti
  • France / 
  • 2011 / 
  • French, Arabic & Hebrew with English subtitles / 
  • 99 min
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"[For] anyone who's just interested in a gripping, unsentimental drama with a lot of action and a pacifist message of hope and reconciliation, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea is must-viewing."
– Jeff Henrich, Montreal Gazette
"Heartfelt! [Bottle] is a gentle pairing of youthful idealism and tenacious hope."
– Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
"This is the story of people who dream big and find a commonunderstanding...No matter where your sympathies lie,it's hard not to get behind that."
– Robert Levin, AM New York

Synopsis

17-year-old Tal has emigrated from France to Jerusalem with her family. She writes a letter expressing her refusal to accept that only hatred can reign between Israelis and Palestinians. She slips the letter into a bottle, and her brother throws it into the sea near Gaza, where he is carrying out his military service. A few weeks later, Tal receives an e-mail response from a mysterious "Gazaman," a young Palestinian named Naim. Thus begins a turbulent but tender long-distance friendship between two young people that are separated by a history they are trying both to understand and change. This engrossing and hopeful drama starring Hiam Abbas is based on the award-winning novel by Valrie Zenatti.

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Customer Reviews


JeffinSeattle - Customer Review
A friendship and/or love between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man seems to be all the rage these days from films based on the conflict. Despite that, this is one of the better films that explores this topic.

Photos

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Tal (Agathe Bonitzer)
Tal (Agathe Bonitzer)
Naim (Mahmoud Shalabi) on right
Naim (Mahmoud Shalabi) on right
Tal (Agathe Bonitzer)
Director Thierry Binisti
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea poster (hi res)

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