Five Broken Cameras

2012
7.9| 1h30m| NR| en
Details

Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously chose nonviolent resistance when the Israeli army encroached upon its land to make room for Jewish colonists. Emad buys his first camera in 2005 to document the birth of his fourth son, Gibreel. Over the course of the film, he becomes the peaceful archivist of an escalating struggle as olive trees are bulldozed, lives are lost, and a wall is built to segregate burgeoning Israeli settlements.

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Reviews

Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Aspen Orson There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.
Ruben Provencio I think it's a unique documentary. Offers a glimpse of the reality of the lives of some of the more marginated Palestinian communities throughout Palestine. Watching this movie will definitely change your thoughts on the current situation.It's a very "down to earth" documentary. It shows some the inner thoughts and struggles of a man from Bi'lin.
lauren In Western media we are usually only exposed to the Israeli side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This documentary provides the viewer with a glimpse into the Palestinian side. Emad Burnat is a Palestinian farmer living in Bil'in, a small village close to the West Bank. The land his family has farmed for generations is being slowly encroached upon by settlements the Israelis are building in the West Bank. He purchases his first camera to capture the birth and childhood of his youngest son. Along with his son's childhood he captures the building of a wall that cuts through the village's olive groves and the violence that befalls the villagers as they use nonviolent protest against the taking of their land by the Israeli government. The title of the documentary gets its name from the fact that Burnat has five different cameras destroyed in one way or another by Israeli soldiers as he films what is happening to his village. I highly recommend this documentary so that one at least knows what the side often unseen in this conflict endures.
Lee Eisenberg Emad Burnat's documentary about the on-the-ground reality for the people inside the West Bank is a very disturbing portrait of life under military occupation. In fact, when Burnat got detained at the LA airport on his way to the Academy Awards, he noted that it is what the Palestinians go through on a daily basis. Indeed, the settlers and army do some absolutely evil things, such as burning an olive tree."5 Broken Cameras" (whose title refers to the different cameras that Burnat had to use after the army kept breaking them) is a documentary that everyone should see. It's a real look at what life is like for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation, a complete contrast to the nonstop depictions of Palestinians as terrorists.
bassammaelborno Retributive Justice...Oh How Sweet It Is !! Today, Sunday, February 24, 2013, the Oscars will be hosting this first ever Oscar nominated Palestinian documentary, whose content, we all know full well, will never be shared with the estimated one billion worldwide viewing audience, nor will it ever be permitted to win. Nevertheless, it just happens to fall on the Jewish Holiday of Purim, which commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in ancient Persia, in the wake of a plot by Haman. It is a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther. Understandably, this day of deliverance has become a day of Jewish feasting and rejoicing. It is celebrated by the giving of mutual gifts of food and drink, the offering of charity to the poor, the consumption of a celebratory meal, and in addition to the prayers and the grace after the meals, there is often a public recitation of the Scroll of Esther. Other customs include the drinking of wine, the wearing of masks and costumes, as well as the exuberant display of celebrations in public. Like Hanukkah, Purim has more of a 'national' (Israel) than a 'religious' (Judaic) character, and its status as a holiday is on a lesser stature than those days ordained by the Torah. Accordingly, business transactions (including the Oscars), and even manual labor are allowed on Purim.As early as the 5th century, there was a custom to "BURN AN EFFIGY" of Haman on Purim.However, the first religious ceremony ordained in the celebration of Purim, is the reading of the Book of Esther (Megillah) in Synagogues. The Megillah is read with a scintillation (a traditional chant) differing from that used in the customary reading of the Torah. When Haman's name is read out during the public chanting of the Megillah in the Synagogues, which by the way occurs 54 times, the congregation engages in boisterous noise-making to "BLOT OUT THE NAME".Over time, a custom developed of writing the name of Haman on two smooth stones, thereafter knocking them together until the name was blotted out. Others write the name of Haman on the soles of their shoes, and then at the mention of the name, loudly and repeatedly stomp their feet as a sign of contempt. Most though, employ the use a loud and noisy ratchet, called a ra'ashan, or in Yiddish a grager. Although some rabbis have protested against these uproarious excesses (raucous stomping and deafening ratcheting), considering them to be a disturbance of public worship, nevertheless, these two customs in particular, have continued to be universally carried out in almost all Synagogues on Purim.Just a thought ?!I wonder if during the Oscars, the Zionists of Hollywood plan to conduct an 'L.A. Festival of Burning', wherein all copies of the "Un-Israeli" film '5 Broken Cameras' will be incinerated, not unlike that conducted by the Nazis in May of 1933, during which upwards of 25,000 volumes of "Un-German" books (predominantly Jewish) were burned ?!Or worse yet, publicly humiliate themselves during the announcement of the film's nomination for an Oscar award, by stomping their feet and twirling permitted Ra'ashans, in a feeble attempt to 'Blot It Out'?!After all, just the other day, they did attempt to prevent the film-maker Emad Burnat, together with his wife and 8 year old son, from attending, by way of harassment and intimidation at the hands of Immigration Officials at L.A.X.Perhaps, it was because a 'Film' or even a 'Broken Camera' in the hands of a Palestinian now constitutes a potential 'Terrorist Threat' ?!