A documentary on how British double-dealing during the First World War ignited the conflict between Arab and Jew in the Middle East. The bitter struggle between Arab and Jew for control of the Holy Land has caused untold suffering in the Middle East for generations. It is often claimed that the crisis originated with Jewish emigration to Palestine and the foundation of the state of Israel. Yet the roots of the conflict are to be found much earlier – in British double-dealing during the First World War. This is a story of intrigue among rival empires; of misguided strategies; and of how conflicting promises to Arab and Jew created a legacy of bloodshed which determined the fate of the Middle East.
Direction
Tight 52 minutes, no documentary bloat
Writing
Clear-eyed blame assignment, no both-sides nonsense
Director
Arense Kvaale
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Arense Kvaale was a Norwegian documentarian—an outsider's gaze that arguably enabled the film's unsparing colonial critique.
Released months before the 2003 Iraq invasion, the film's warning about imperial overreach landed with devastating contemporary relevance.
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