Review of Exodus (1960) by Chris A — 05 Aug 2008

Personally, I don't think either side of the conflict between Arab and Jew is blameless, though I think both sides would like to believe they are. A lot of Americans, too, stick up for one side or the other without acknowledging that whatever side they choose is flawed. Both peoples have a long history in the region, and neither side wants to give up their land and their history. I don't think they have to in order to live in peace together, though I'll admit you wouldn't know that by the way things go in a lot of other places.

The formation of the State of Israel after World War II is a complicated issue. It's true that, after the horrors of the Holocaust, it seemed more important than ever to establish a Jewish homeland. It is further true that the Jewish ethnicity and religion had their origins where the State of Israel is today. The characters in the film are part of the shift from a British-held colony to an independent nation--and how that helped create further animosity between the Palestinian natives and the Jews returning from the Diaspora. Ari Ben Canaan (Paul Newman) manages to bring a shipload of refugees from British-held Cyprus to British-held Palestine in the last days before independence. Among those on the ship are Karen Johansson (Jill Haworth) and Dov Landau (Sal Mineo). Karen has the chance to emigrate to the US and chooses not to so that she may help build a new Israel; Dov joins a radical group that is determined to create the Israeli state by force.

One wishes that Dov could have learned more from Karen. She was raised in Denmark, a more tolerant country. 99% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust, not least because of a concerted effort by the Danish people to transport the Danish Jews to Sweden, which was neutral. Therefore, Karen grew up learning that Jews and Gentiles could get along. Had more people learned this lesson, it is entirely possible that more of the troubles in the Middle East could have been avoided. Further, there is the Good Arab (John Derek, I think), Ari's childhood friend, who wishes to promote peace between the two factions.

The story does skip around a lot. There is a certain expectation that you will already know most of the history. Unfortunately, most people nowadays do not. [i]I[/i] do not, certainly. I can't tell the difference between the various factions on either side, for one. There really isn't much detail given on the subject. The real leaders at the time are fictionalized here; you won't find a David Ben Guiron or a Golda Meir. (Actually, you won't even find a Golda Meir stand-in.) Most of the action actually set in Palestine revolves around a kibbutz, which is itself primarily populated by refugee children. The adults are in Jerusalem, blowing up hotels or rescuing murderers from prison.

I am aware, of course, that many of the neighbouring countries oppose the State of Israel because of antisemitism; you can dispense with telling me that. I do, however, think that they'd have less ground to stand on if the Israeli government didn't oppress the [i]other[/i] native people.