A Bottle in the Gaza Sea

Tai is an Israeli girl. Naim is a Palestinian boy. She lives in Jerusalem. He lives in Gaza. Naim picks up a bottle thrown into the sea and finds Tai’s letter. Naim emails a response, and their correspondence nurtures what little hope is left in them. Although their two countries are involved in a vicious war of sorts, these members of the younger generation refuse to give up hope. The film opens with a bomb explosion in Jerusalem of September 2007. This scene summarizes the conflict of the two sides and the camera moves directly to lives of young men. The ‘privilege’ of youth has lost its meaning where daily lives involve bombings and inspections. When all attempts seem in vain, their efforts to communicate and understand reflect a last hope in this wonderful adaptation of the novel of same title by Valerie Zenatti. –BIFF