Grand, sweeping epics with stories spanning many years (if not decades) have long been a staple of the movie industry, typically capturing numerous awards and big box office tallies, even though their popularity has slowly been waning somewhat in recent years. However, the third feature outing from actress-writer-director Cherien Dabis represents a return to that tradition, and in impressive fashion. Set in Palestine and told in four acts from 1948 to 2022, the film follows the experiences of three generations of the Hammad family from the time of Israel’s establishment to the recent past. The picture chronicles the struggles these individuals face in the wake of the confiscation of their and their peers’ lands and properties in Jaffa (now Haifa), their relocation to remote refugee camps, and the ongoing oppression imposed on them in their daily lives by Israeli authorities. It also poignantly depicts the anguishing decisions associated with questions of compliance vs. reprisal, the high costs of fighting back, and the pain of loss in the face of those harsh conditions. But, if all that weren’t enough, the film also examines the hard choices that flow from such dire circumstances, tough decisions involving ethics, deeply held spiritual considerations and secular practicality, particularly in the areas of compassion and, potentially, the lives and deaths of loved ones and innoce…

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