Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2011

Julian Schnabel’s controversial 50-year saga about four women and their influence on the Palestinian complexities, based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Rula Jebreal, is a noble effort. But the director’s dogged adaptation (nearly a transcription) and flat storytelling results in something that’s more baffling than it is cathartic. Fine cast includes Hiam Abbass, Alexander Siddig and Freida Pinto. It has been criticized for its one-sidedness. You decide. But the filmmaking is a disappointment, coming from the man who made The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Basquiat. Odd choice of music.