PS JERUSALEM
TIFF DOCS D: Danae Elon. Canada/Israel. 87 min. Sep 14, 9:45 pm, Sep 16, 4 pm Scotiabank 14 Sep 19, 12:30 pm Scotiabank 4. See listings. Rating: NNN
Feeling pulled towards what she thinks is home, Danae Elon, daughter of Amos Eton, one of Israel’s premier public intellectuals before he left the country in disgust over its policies, returns with her family to live in her birthplace, Jerusalem.
Over her three years there, she reveals the tensions in this hopelessly divided city, her husband’s difficulties finding his place there and her children’s experience in a school where Arab and Jewish children learn together.
It takes a while for the film to find its rhythm – there’s a bit too much early on about Danae’s relationship with her father – but her oldest son, an extremely intelligent four-year-old, is always riveting, guilelessly asking all the right questions to his deeply conflicted mom.
Makes you think that children could negotiate peace if they were given the chance.
