The Junction

by Ilan Ziv, Director
Icarus / First Films, Brooklyn, NY, 2003
VHS, 52 mins., col.
Sales, $390; rental, $75
Distributor’s Website: http://www.frif.com.

Reviewed by Amy Ione
The Diatrope Institute
Santa Rosa, Ca 95406-0813

ione@diatrope.com

A few years ago I was among those who juried an international children’s art show. Work was submitted from throughout the world and judged by country. One winner from each country was then invited to attend a weeklong event in Washington DC. Most of the countries had a particular flavor, although the narrative and visual qualities of the submissions would still demonstrate a range of personalities. The drawings that stayed in my mind were from a group of Palestinians. Depicting people in cages and accompanied by words like ‘kill’, it was difficult to comprehend how I could ‘judge’ them. Knowing the kinds of passions that defined the situation in the Middle East, even before the United States invaded Iraq, the emotions these children depicted were easily placed within a context that was certainly beyond the kind of judgment one brings to an art contest.

The Junction, a film by Ilan Ziv, brought these images to mind. It, similarly, compels us to reconcile the irreconcilable, as it reminds us that humanity is comprised of living beings with deep emotions. The narrative Ziv presents revolves around the stories of two men, Fahmi Abou Ammouneh and David Biri. Although they appear to have little in common in life, their deaths link them forever. Biri was the first Israeli soldier and Ammouneh, the first Palestinian civilian, killed at the start of the second intifada that erupted in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip in 2000. Since then large numbers of Israelis and Palestinians have met a similar fate. The Junction combines interviews with families and friends with home videos of Biri to show how death affects the living. Particularly noteworthy were the references to God on both sides. These seemed ironic in light of the violence and the divisive views expressed. The references to God also brought to mind the way in which people of all religions have turned to their gods when called upon to provide a rationale for events they were unable to grasp.

One of the striking aspects of the presentation was conveyed by the director’s ability to capture that the sorrow of loss strikes all equally. Indeed, the film frames an abyss that seems to offer no answers as to what we may do to end the cycle of violence and the resulting sorrow from it. In this case, the void is tied to the fates of the two boys, whose deaths rippled through both communities, inciting passions on both sides. David’s family, for example, left their son’s room intact as they struggled for comprehension. The father of his best friend, El'ad, an incredibly articulate speaker, tells us that he lost one son in an earlier conflict. Then El’ad, totally unable to come to terms with the death of his companion, committed suicide. David's surviving comrades also demonstrate that the senselessness of his death is not easily grasped. These soldiers, instead, remind us that even members of the army must deal with internal struggles as they embrace the kind of the camaraderie that those within the service seem to develop to cope with this life style.

Fahmi's family, likewise, fails to understand the circumstances his death brought into their lives. While there are no videos displaying his person to us, the interviews do give us a sense of his personality. We also learn that their loss was yet another personal tragedy to add to the litany. When his relatives situate the event in terms of the injustice perpetrated by the Israeli occupiers, their stories bring to mind that the misery of the Palestinians has festered. Fahmi’s mother's family was forced out of their village when she was a baby. His uncle decries the misery that follows them from generation to generation.

What can one say when presented with such sadness? In this case, although the film frames two lives, it also pointed toward a larger reality, particularly apparent during this Christmas season when I viewed the film. The news in the United States during this time continually included sequences of families touched by the war in Iraq. Among those who had lost family members the most unforgettable was the child who refused to accept the death of a father meant the father was never coming home. Several family members, endeavoring to come to terms with the how and why of war’s casualties, also spoke of how violence enflames and all that it fails to resolve. Just as David’s friend El’ad took his life, it seems that death in war has a negative impact on the social and emotional fabric of individuals and societies.

Ziv, the director, artfully reminds us that abstractions about war do not negate the real people who are affected by larger circumstances. He conveys how events elevate passions. This, in turn, results in an excellent film that is moving, although hardly uplifting, Given the pathos he presents, it is perhaps useful to think that this work was completed before the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004. As Arafat’s death reminds us, circumstances change. With each fluctuation in the fabric of our lives, possibilities are given new life. One can now again hope that all involved will seek a constructive solution, and events do offer hope. It is heartening to know that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Mahmoud Abbas has begun his official election campaign with a call for peace and negotiation. Another sign that better times might be ahead is that residents of a small Jewish settlement said at the end of December that they will move to a village inside Israel, giving a boost to the government's contentious Gaza pullout plan by becoming the first community to agree to be evacuated. Juxtaposing the events of The Junction with those that signify hope for the future, however, I am keenly aware that David Biri’s father spoke of the promise of peace that seemed to be alive when his son first joined in the army. Still, as 2005 dawns, it is encouraging that leaders are renewing their efforts to find a solution to the intractable situation that currently has torn this region apart. As this film reminds us, a world in which this kind of film would be unnecessary is a worthy goal.