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2012 Israeli film From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zaytoun (Hebrew: זייתון, Arabic: زيتون, romanized: Zaytūn, "Olive")[4] is a 2012 Israeli adventure thriller film directed by Eran Riklis and produced by Gareth Unwin and Fred Ritzenberg. It premiered in September 2012 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[5]
| Zaytoun זייתון زيتون | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Eran Riklis |
| Written by | Nader Rizq |
| Produced by | Gareth Unwin Fred Ritzenberg |
| Starring | Stephen Dorff Abdallah El Akal |
| Cinematography | Dan Laustsen |
| Edited by | Hervé Schneid |
| Music by | Cyril Morin |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Pathé (France) Strand Releasing (US) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes[1] |
| Countries | Israel United Kingdom France |
| Languages | Hebrew Arabic English |
| Box office | $42,330 (domestic)[2] $129,288 (international)[3] $171,618 (worldwide) |
The screenplay was written by Nader Rizq, a Palestinian-American living in the United States. What started as a hobby in 1991 ended up making the semi-finals of the 2001 Nicholl Fellowships run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Subsequent re-writes again placed in the Nicholls and semi-finaled in the Ohio Independent Screenplay Awards. In late 2007, American producer Fred Ritzenberg came aboard and helped further develop the script.[6]
During the 1982 Lebanon War, an Israeli fighter pilot, Yoni, is shot down over Beirut and captured by the Palestine Liberation Organization. Fahed, a precocious young Palestinian refugee who is angered by the death of his father in an Israeli air attack, agrees to help Yoni escape and lead him out of the city if Yoni will get him over the border and back to his family's ancestral village, where Fahed intends to plant an olive tree that his father had been tending in Beirut. As they embark on a hazardous road trip across the war-ravaged country, Yoni and Fahed move from suspicion and mutual antagonism to a tentative camaraderie as they make their way closer to the place they both call home.
The screenwriter Nader Rizq, has since come out speaking about changes made to his screenplay in violation of his integrity as an artist and spokesman for his people's rights.[7] He mentions being excluded from the decision process which resulted in the last minute changes to the screenplay, yet he insisted on, and received sole writing credit.
He described a process where "Only Israeli concerns were addressed, Israeli opinions expressed, and Israeli versions of history permitted. Alternate perspectives were simply unacceptable. And no measure of carefully documented alarm made an iota of difference."
Examples of changes to Rizq's script include:
Zaytoun received mixed reviews, holding a 48% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes from 33 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's consensus states: "It has a lot on its mind, including a timely storyline with real-world significance; unfortunately, Zaytoun's reach exceeds its grasp, partly due to the presence of a miscast Stephen Dorff."[8] On Metacritic the film has a score of 39% based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9]
Variety published a good review, suggesting it was "an accessible, briskly paced and occasionally schematic adventure".[10] So did The Huffington Post, whose review added it was "punctuated by some outstanding performances".[11] However, The Financial Times suggested it was "simplistic" and there was "too much diplomacy".[12]
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