Children of Rage

Last updated
Children of Rage
Children of Rage video cover.jpg
Video release poster
Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman
Screenplay by
Based onA story by Arthur Allan Seidelman and Ana Laura
Produced by
Music by Patrick Gowers
Running time
106 mins
Countries Israel, United Kingdom

Children of Rage is a 1975 film written and directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, [1] filmed mostly in Malta. It deals with the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The film stars Helmut Griem, Simon Ward, Cyril Cusack, Olga Georges-Picot and Richard Alfieri.

Contents

Plot

When Ahmed, a Palestinian guerrilla, is killed, his brother Omar (Richard Alfieri) takes his place. Omar is wounded while disguised as an Israeli but escapes from the hospital to avoid questioning. Before being transported to the safety of the camps, he is treated by David (Helmut Griem), an Israeli doctor and friend of the family. David's conscience persuades him to go to the camp to help alleviate the suffering. The resistance he gets from some of the militants culminates in the death of him and Omar.

Critical response

The film created quite a stir and controversy on its original release as it was the first Hollywood film to tackle the post 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. According to the director, the Rugoff chain in New York thought they might suffer a bombing if they agreed to distribute the film. [2]

Richard Wagner, reviewing it for Jump Cut website states, "Seidelmann’s film is, in effect, a cinematic Rorschach test to which people will respond depending on what they bring to it." [3] New York film critic Mark A. Bruzonsky, a writer and consultant on international affairs living in Washington. D.C, described it as It is a shocking and absorbing portrayal of Middle East reality. Though admittedly espousing the theme of Palestinian homelessness through Israeli usurpation, the film is not the propaganda it is said to be by those who fail to appreciate the writer's artistry or motivations. For those viewers aware of the complex history of the Arab-Israeli tragedy, Children of Rage is a powerful presentation of the human dimensions of what transpires daily on both sides of the nationalist/cultural barrier. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasser Arafat</span> Palestinian political leader (1929–2004)

Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian political leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) from 1994 to 2004. Ideologically an Arab nationalist and a socialist, Arafat was a founding member of the Fatah political party, which he led from 1959 until 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israeli–Palestinian conflict</span> Ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant between Israel and Palestine. Beginning in the mid-20th century, it is one of the world's longest-continuing conflicts. Key areas of the conflict include the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders, security and water rights, as well as Palestinian freedom of movement and the Palestinian right of return.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabra and Shatila massacre</span> 1982 mass murder of civilians in Beirut, Lebanon

The Sabra and Shatila massacre was the 16 - 18 September 1982 killings of between 460 and 3,500 civilians—mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shias—in the city of Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. It was perpetrated by the Lebanese Forces, one of the main Christian militias in Lebanon, and supported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that had surrounded Beirut's Sabra neighbourhood and the adjacent Shatila refugee camp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Intifada</span> 1987–1993 Palestinian uprising against Israel

The First Intifada, also known as the First Palestinian Intifada or the Stone Intifada, was a sustained series of protests, civil disobedience and riots carried out by Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. It was motivated by collective Palestinian frustration over Israel's military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as it approached a twenty-year mark, having begun in the wake of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. The uprising lasted from December 1987 until the Madrid Conference of 1991, though some date its conclusion to 1993, with the signing of the Oslo Accords.

Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–1949 Palestine war and the Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refugees live in or near 68 Palestinian refugee camps across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 2019 more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees were registered with the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp David Accords</span> 1978 political agreement between Egypt and Israel

The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retreat of the President of the United States in Maryland. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House and were witnessed by President Jimmy Carter. The second of these frameworks led directly to the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty. Due to the agreement, Sadat and Begin received the shared 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. The first framework, which dealt with the Palestinian territories, was written without participation of the Palestinians and was condemned by the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Camp David Summit</span> Failed attempt to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The 2000 Camp David Summit was a summit meeting at Camp David between United States president Bill Clinton, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat. The summit took place between 11 and 25 July 2000 and was an effort to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The summit ended without an agreement, largely due to irreconcilable differences between Israelis and Palestinians on the status of Jerusalem. Its failure is considered one of the main triggers of the Second Intifada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Barenboim</span> Argentine-born pianist and conductor (born 1942)

Daniel Barenboim is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. From 1992 until January 2023, Barenboim was the general music director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeister" of its orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin.

Issues relating to the State of Israel and aspects of the Arab–Israeli conflict and more recently the Iran–Israel conflict occupy repeated annual debate times, resolutions and resources at the United Nations. Since its founding in 1948, the United Nations Security Council, has adopted 79 resolutions directly related to the Arab–Israeli conflict as of January 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamer Nafar</span> Palestinian rapper (born 1979)

Tamer Nafar is a Palestinian rapper, actor, screenwriter and social activist of Israeli citizenship. He is the leader and a founding member of DAM, the first Palestinian hip hop group.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is an American non-profit pro-Israel media-monitoring, research and membership organization. According to its website, CAMERA is "devoted to promoting accurate and balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East." The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to The Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general anti-Israel bias".

Arthur Allan Seidelman is an American television, film, and theatre director and an occasional writer, producer, and actor. His works are distinguished by a humane, probing, and sympathetic depiction of characters facing ethical challenges. His approach to directing is guided by his belief that character and relationships, along with an emphasis on genuine emotion over intellectualization, are the keys to unlocking the dramatic potential of a performance, a play, or a screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabalia refugee camp</span> Refugee camp in North Gaza, State of Palestine

Jabalia Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp created by the United Nations following Israel's war of independence in 1948. Despite its name, it is nowadays an urban agglomeration located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) north of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip. It is the largest refugee camp in Palestinian territory, with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

<i>Ajami</i> (film) 2009 film

Ajami is a 2009 Israeli Arab drama film. Its plot is set in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Events in the year 2000 in Israel.

<i>The Promise</i> (2011 TV serial) British TV series or programme

The Promise is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, with music by Debbie Wiseman. It tells the story of a young woman who goes to present-day Israel and Palestine determined to find out about her soldier grandfather's involvement in the final years of Palestine under the British mandate. It premiered on Channel 4 on 6 February 2011.

Events in the year 2000 in the Palestinian territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omar Barghouti</span> Qatari-Palestinian activist (born 1964)

Omar Barghouti is a founding committee member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and a co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. He received the Gandhi Peace Award in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-state solution</span> Proposed diplomatic solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, in the region west of the Jordan River. The major points of contention are: the boundaries of the two states, the status of Jerusalem, the Israeli settlements and the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian stone-throwing</span> Palestinian practice of throwing stones at people or property

Palestinian stone-throwing refers to a Palestinian practice of throwing stones at people or property. It is a tactic with both a symbolic and military dimension when used against heavily-armed troops. Proponents, sympathizers, as well as analysts have characterized stone throwing by Palestinians as a form of "limited", "restrained", "non-lethal" violence. The majority of Palestinian youths engaged in the practice appear to regard it as symbolic and non-violent, given the disparity in power and equipment between the Israeli forces and the Palestinian stone-throwers, with many considering it a method of deterring Israeli military forces and civilians from the occupation of Palestinian lands. The state of Israel considers the act to be criminal, on the grounds that it is potentially lethal. In some cases, Israelis have argued that it should be treated as a form of terrorism, or that, in terms of the psychology of those who hurl stones, even in defense or in protest, it is intrinsically aggressive.

References

  1. "Children of Rage (1975)". IMDb.com.
  2. 1 2 Mark A. Bruzonsky. "Children of Rage" (PDF). Worldview.carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  3. "Children of Rage by Richard Wagner". Ejumppcut.org.