I was extremely impressed by this documentary, which surveyed the thoughts of four intellectuals on the Israel-Palestine issue. Chomsky, Fisk, Finkelstein, and Roy were a great focus for this film, giving the audience four different and enlightening viewpoints, told in their own words. Their backgrounds and emotional investments in the issue, as well as the fact that no simple narrative was given to the audience to push them into some simple, 1-dimensional way of thinking, gave the film a feeling of authenticity I have hardly experienced in any other film.
Rather than appeal to anger over the issue, and persuade its audience to choose one side over another, the film brilliantly conveys a deep sadness at the complicated reality of the issue, giving the audience a vehicle by which they can understand not only the issue itself from many perspectives, but the main four characters and how it has deeply affected them in their own lives. In the end, I was left feeling very thankful to have experienced the movie, the thoughts of these four incredible people, and interestingly, my own thoughts and a newly-acquired inquisitiveness on the issue and these people that had not previously been present.
The film also spoke to a higher respect for the audience than can be seen in most other documentaries. It made me feel a part of the film, rather than an audience member whose views perhaps needed to be molded to choose one side over another, or that I should think in a certain way. This style very much appealed to me.
Highly recommended.