Art & Culture

This is a must-see movie, especially if you are not Israeli, not Jewish and have no sentiments concerning the last 150 year’s history of the Middle East. The movie reveals historical perspectives of which most of us, Israeli or not, are only dimly aware. We vaguely recall that then-Palestine was an overseas province of the Ottoman Empire. We knew that Yemen was once home to a thriving Jewish community, poor, but rich in Jewish culture. And of course we remember the British Mandate and the struggle by Zionists to re-establish a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel.
 
“The Golden Pomegranate” brings all that history to life through the eyes of a young Yemenite girl, Mazal, all of 14 years old, who is married off and sent from Sana’a, Yemen, to fulfill the yearning of generations of Yemenites: “Next year in Jerusalem”. If you are Israeli, as I am, you might also be pleased that in the darkened movie house, nobody could see your tears of emotion, or perhaps hear your muffled sobs as the movie draws to a dramatic close.
Unfortunately, the movie, based on Dvora Waysman’s book “The Pomegranate Pendant” (Mazo Publishers, 2007), is seriously flawed. The director has not missed the opportunity to insert all and every possible cliché and stereotype. (The old Yemenite man sees Jerusalem after his arduous journey – and instantly drops dead with a smile on his face.) All the good characters are cloyingly sweet, while all the bad guys are too nasty to contemplate. Good always triumphs over evil. The clichéd wisdom of the “wise elders” always seems to influence the hot-headed youngsters. The resident Austrian Consul is too kind. The racist Arabs – and Jews – are too nauseating. No subtle emotions. Nothing to think about.
 
The film is set in Sana’a, Jaffa and Jerusalem and the sets are authentically convincing. So too are many of the period costumes, aiding our understanding of the historical times. The plot (from the book) is rich; perhaps too rich for a standard full-length movie, which might explain why the stereotypes are so lacking in subtlety – the director had to fit in too much.
 
For all its Hollywood-style faults we recommend this movie. The original soundtrack is in English (with Hebrew subtitles). The Golden Pomegranate will be released for general audiences on the 27th December in theaters in Israel.


Review by Jonathan Danilowitz
DIPLOMACY correspondent