Budrus

B+ Documentary

Written & Directed by Julia Bacha

I missed this documentary when it did the festival rounds last year, but I finally caught it on a review DVD (sent to me by Landmark Theatres) in time for its Friday opening. So here I am, wondering if I’m reviewing the movie or the message.

Make no mistake—Budrus is all about message, and I’m sure I would have hated this documentary if I had disagreed with its point of view. But I liked the movie, which disclosed a side of the Palestinian struggle that I hadn’t seen before, but always hoped was there: Gandhian, non-violent resistance.

Budrus is a small, Palestinian, agricultural town just east of the green line (Israel’s pre-1967 border). When the Israeli government set out to build its separation wall between the town and its olive groves, the town revolts. But they do so peacefully, standing amongst the trees as the army-backed bulldozers arrive. Soon, left-leaning Israelis show up to support their cause, amazing the villagers, who had never before met friendly Jews willing to take their side. Then people come from all over the world to help.

It’s an inspiring story that practically tells itself. Filmmaker Julia Bacha steps out of the way and allows it to do just that. Combining footage of the town and the protests, a few sequences from Israeli TV news, and a handful of talking heads, she keeps the narrative lively and interesting.

The main talking head is protest leader Ayed Morrar, a Budrus native and life-long activist. He comes off as open-minded, intelligent, and humane. He has a difficult balancing act, keeping various Palestinian factions (including Hamas, which he doesn’t care for) together on this. When some of the young men lose their patience with non-violence and start throwing rocks, it’s devastating for him.

The most telling line in the film comes from an Israeli border police captain, Yasmine Levy. The appearance of Israeli protesters complicated the situation, she explains, because “Since they were Jewish, we couldn’t use force on them.”

I wish that Bacha, or whoever was conducting that interview, had asked her why. That was one of several times when the stepping-out-of-the-way approach hindered the film. Other times included scenes when the police and army became violent. How were the filmmakers able to keep shooting without being forced to turn over their cameras?

Not that I would have wanted a Michael Moore level of filmmaker involvement, but a little more from the filmmakers would have been nice.

Budrus offers a thin wedge of hope in the hopelessness of the middle east. As Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Ayed Morrar all learned, it’s harder to keep people committed to non-violence than committed to violence. But the rewards, in the long run, are greater.