O Jerusalem (film)
O Jerusalem is a 2006 drama film directed by Elie Chouraqui. It is based on the historical documentary novel of the same name, written by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins.
| O Jerusalem | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Elie Chouraqui |
| Produced by | Jeffrey Konvitz |
| Written by | Elie Chouraqui Didier Le Pechuer |
| Starring | JJ Feild Saïd Taghmaoui Maria Papas Patrick Bruel Ian Holm Tovah Feldshuh Mel Raido Cécile Cassel Mhairi Steenbock Tom Conti Shirel Peter Polycarpou Natalie Latham |
Release date |
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| Country | France United Kingdom |
| Language | English Arabic Hebrew |
The working title for release in the US is Beyond Friendship. It was produced for US distribution by Jeffrey Konvitz.
Plot
Two Americans, one Jewish, the other Arab, are friends. As the United Nations votes for the creation of the state of Israel, both are pulled into conflict, their involvement taking them from New York City to Jerusalem, where they risk their lives for what they each believe in. It depicts the 1947–1949 Palestine war and the end of the British mandate of Palestine.
Cast
- JJ Feild - Bobby Goldman
- Saïd Taghmaoui - Saïd Chahine
- Maria Papas - Hadassah
- Patrick Bruel - David Levin
- Ian Holm - David Ben Gurion
- Tovah Feldshuh - Golda Meir
- Mel Raido - Jacob
- Cécile Cassel - Jane
- Mhairi Steenbock - Cathy
- Tom Conti - Sir Cunningham
- Shirel - Yaël
- Peter Polycarpou - Abdel Khader
- Yonatan Uziel as Post manager
Critical reception
The film received bad reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 33% of professional critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 10, and the site consensus being "Though a noble effort, O Jerusalem fails to combine this history lesson and human drama into a coherent cinematic piece."[1]