No Other Land review: A powerful yet compromised work, more Israeli than Palestinian

Oscar-winning documentary is a potent entry point that makes 'complicated' simple, with one inherent flaw

No Other Land, an Oscar-winning documentary about residents of Masafer Yatta, is the year's most controversial film. Photo: L'Atelier Distribution

Basel Adra, the Palestinian co-director and central figure of the Oscar-winning No Other Land, is an activist. He states that early in the film: “I’m an activist,” he says. "I’ve been an activist nearly my entire life.”

That’s a key distinction, even if he doesn’t lay it out. What he’s really saying is this: He’s an activist, not a revolutionary.

The difference is important. A revolutionary wants to upend the powers that be. An activist doesn’t – they want to change policy. And an oft-necessary part of activism is compromise – changing minds and building bridges to expand one’s coalition.

No Other Land, is, inherently, an act of compromise. It’s an Israeli-Palestinian co-production, with Adra co-directing along with Palestinian Hamdan Ballal (who was recently beaten and detained, sparking global outcry) and Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

Much of the film is made up of Adra's personal footage, using his camera as a shield to document the potential atrocities of Israeli settlers and military as he and his relatives try to protect their small Palestinian village of Masafer Yatta from destruction.

But the Israeli involvement in this Palestinian story is not incidental or merely behind the scenes. Throughout the film, Abraham is a key on-screen figure, first as a journalist for the liberal Israeli +972 Magazine, there to write about the town, but quickly entrenches himself further.

Abraham and Adra become fast friends, with Abraham using his privilege as an Israeli to protect the Palestinians from harm, and to stop their homes from being destroyed by the seemingly never-ending fleet of bulldozers.

No Other Land is now available to buy in the Middle East. Photo: L'atelier Distribution

The constant scenes of Adra and Abraham stick out, each having a decidedly different tone and feel to the footage shot with their lives on the line. And in them, it becomes clear who this film is for: liberally minded people around the world who haven’t engaged with the Palestinian struggle, probably with sympathy for Israel. For those viewers, Abraham is their point-of-view character, someone they can trust to tell them right from wrong.

At times, the dynamic between the two feels like mismatched partners in a buddy action film. In one scene, Abraham complains that his most recent article didn’t get enough views. Adra calls him enthusiastic – an admirable trait that lacks the patience needed for this kind of activism. “This has been going on for decades,” Adra says. In other moments, Abraham acts as Adra's biggest supporter when he’s losing hope. Sometimes, the two just banter over shisha to ease the pain.

Ultimately, whether by design or not, Abraham's inclusion keeps the aim of the film small. No Other Land is not trying to change everything – it’s picking one specific wrong: to protect the people of villages in the Palestinian countryside and preserve their way of life.

As Abraham himself puts it, the preservation of Palestinian dignity is the only way to keep Israelis safe.

This is the same perspective once proffered by the Israeli general Moshe Dayan in his autobiography Story of My Life – so close that it seems that Abraham is quoting him.

Dayan is partly responsible for the current paradigm, and was against a Palestinian state, but he was for the preservation of Palestinian dignity purely in Israel’s interest – knowing that unrest is inevitable if quality of life is not ensured.

But in the current climate, even a liberal Israeli position is unacceptable to those who oppose it. Around the world, the film has been widely denounced. Some political figures have tried to censor it, and it has been shunned by studios.

Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal poses for a picture with his Oscar, with a view of an Israeli settlement behind him, as he recovers after settlers attacked him at home. AFP

Why so much opposition? Because it’s powerful. Its stance is so iron-clad that nary a person with a heart could watch it and not see the obvious wrong, regardless of where their allegiances lie. See No Other Land, and something chronically called “complicated” becomes simple.

And once that door is open, it’s nearly impossible to close. I, once, had that door opened for me by a similar film. As a teenager growing up in the US, I borrowed Hany Abu-Assad’s Paradise Now from the video store where I worked. It was a film with an Israeli producer, which I initially heard about because of its Oscar nomination. That film led me towards a path of self-education – and changed my life.

For those who already support the Palestinian cause, I cannot call this film a must-see. But if they’re looking for a film to show the people in their lives who still remain sceptical, there’s few better picks than this. It’s an entry point – flawed but potent.