Devastating: that which devastates, overwhelming, destructive.
Indeed, when the documentary “No Other Land” ends, a heavy silence falls over the room. We spectators look into each other's eyes even though we do not know each other and we are completely stunned: we make our way to the exit slowly as if we were following a funeral procession.
Basel and Yuval are two peers. The first is a Palestinian living near Hebron in the Masafer Yatta hills of the West Bank region; the second is an Israeli who decides to support Basel's simple and courageous project. The idea is to film, in the most straightforward way possible, the violence of settlers and military forces to create a documentary with the power to attempt to shake the status quo.
Since the 1980s, Masafer Yatta has been a closed military training area, and the Israeli government, to make it such, decides to enact a violent and progressive policy of demolishing the region's homes.
The inhumane intent is to make life impossible for the local population and to present them with a terrible choice: to resist somehow or to abandon their land. The only land, because the others do not count. Basel and Yuval film the bulldozers in action as they gut the fragile homes, even schools. If the population tries to rebuild at night, they return to tear everything down again and confiscate the work tools; anyone who opposes and raises their voice too much does so at the risk of their life. And if despite this, you do not go away, if you do not give up and try to resist by accepting to live in a dirty and filthy cave, then they return with a chainsaw and a cement mixer: the cutting of irrigation pipes and pouring fresh concrete into wells are actions I cannot even define.
AND
SO’
ON
TO’ INFINITY
The documentary chronologically retraces events from 2019 until the end of 2023, before October 7th: we do not know how the Israeli-Palestinian producers managed to maintain that fragile and precious friendship, the only hope of these 96 minutes. The work is all here, and I think it is unnecessary to continue with useless historical details that we all know.
The dry, raw, and minimal style of “No Other Land” is perfect for leaving a powerful impression on any viewer who wishes to engage with this remarkable and bold documentary.
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