The award-winning and controversial film Palestine ’36 presents a seldom-depicted view of Palestine’s struggle. It is controversial in that it is impossible to find agreement on the origins of the Palestine-Israel saga. With any conflict, events are never recounted by two individuals or parties in the same way; however, filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has written and directed a film that attempts to present the Palestinian version with historical accuracy.
The film recounts the time of British occupation in Palestine, which had begun in 1920. In 1936 they were attempting (badly) to negotiate the creation of a land for the Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Europe, a plan based on the Balfour Declaration. The British are depicted as duplicitous occupiers, promising Arab independence and the retention of land to the Palestinians while simultaneously allowing Zionist expansion and the forced takeover of land.
After months of brutal treatment and deceit, the Palestinians – both Muslim and Christian – took up arms, and once-peaceful people were radicalized. Young men, old women, and even children were ready to fight for their independence. This villager-led revolt lasted until 1939, and eventually included people from all towns, cities and other rural regions. During this time, as perpetrated in India as well, the British violently and forcefully fought against this uprising, costing many lives.
Palestine ’36 is an epic, depicting events from many viewpoints, and with a large cast. Jeremy Irons is excellent as the British High Commissioner, adept at making pronouncements he doesn’t believe. Robert Aramayo (outstanding in I Swear) plays the sadistic and eccentric Captain Wingate (Jacir noted that the actual Wingate was even worse than the film’s depiction). Palestinian actors Saleh Bakri and Hiam Abbass portray villagers fighting against the British military, Dhafer L’Abidine is a cowardly newspaper publisher, and Billy Howle plays a British administrator who tries to construct a fair land deal for the Palestinians, but realizes he is also being misled.
The story behind the making of the film is nearly as dramatic as the narrative. Beginning in early 2023, director Jacir and her crew had rebuilt a village in Palestine, carefully recreating buildings in the style and materials of the era, and even planting crops and trees that would have grown there. They were ready to start filming in Bethlehem in October 2023, but everything was shut down by the events of October 7. The production was paused for many months, then restarted in Jordan. All the original cast and crew were so committed to the project that they kept their calendars open for the rescheduled production.
Palestine ’36 is a film that helps us understand one part of the historic and ongoing conflict, and for that reason is important to watch with an open mind.
Directed by Annemarie Jacir
Palestine ’36 opens at the SBIFF Film Center on April 10. Learn more here.
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https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/palestine_36
Palestine 36 is seen as a one-sided film that inaccurately portrays Zionism as purely colonial while ignoring Jewish historical ties to the land and the refugee context of Jewish immigration. It is criticized for minimizing Arab violence against Jews, misrepresenting largely legal Jewish land purchases as widespread dispossession, and oversimplifying Britain’s role by portraying it as consistently pro-Zionist despite policies that restricted Jewish immigration. The film is also said to romanticize the Arab Revolt while overlooking internal divisions and violence among Arabs, omit broader regional and ideological influences, and use biased language that frames the conflict as a simplistic oppressor-versus-victim narrative rather than a complex historical situation.
> one-sided
Strongly characterizes your comment.
Hey DAN, does Westmont not teach about plagiarism? Cool ChatGPT comment.
Or about use of the passive voice?
“Palestine 36 is seen as … It is criticized for … The film is also said to …” — by whom? This is a grossly dishonest rhetorical technique that not only privileges one point of view but denies the existence of other points of view. And this hypocritical trash has the gall to assert that the film “is seen as … one-sided”.
If it’s from DA, it’s doo-doo.