A Somewhat Contrived Set-Up Leads To An Incredibly Subtle And Satisfying Family Drama
As I settled in to watch the heartfelt drama "The Other Son," I was instantly wary of its contrived set-up and principle plot thread. Like a classic soap opera, the center of this well meaning movie revolves around a switched-at-birth incident. This accident, however, is wrought with political and religious significance. One family is Israeli and one is Palestinian. What happens when the mistake is discovered as the two boys approach adulthood? Such a set-up would allow for plenty of intellectual discussion, teaching moments, and heavy handed drama. I could already see where the movie was heading. Remarkably, though, director Lorraine Levy (working with an incredibly nuanced screenplay) doesn't travel down the expected path. Instead, she takes this situation and turns it into a thoughtful, restrained, and pleasingly subtle experience. Truthfully, I loved "The Other Son." It never attempts to preach at its audience, it allows its characters to discover their own way. Once I...
"Uncanny Family Drama"
Alternately "schmaltzy" and alternately realistic, this film is a subtitled depiction of present-day Middle-East tensions personified by the use of an uncanny family drama. Very good acting and colorful footage of ethnic locales adds to the enjoyment level. There are, however, some elements of the story that seem to stretch rationale belief in their treatment of deep-seated political hatred and religious confrontation. To avoid "spoilers", I won't elaborate. Also be advised that there is some English dialogue, and when it is spoken, the subtitles vanish. Which is a disservice to the hearing impaired.
`We are all human, we can all be family.'
While the world continues to struggle to understand the constant schism between Palestine and Israel and yet permutations of that unsettled hot fire whose coals continue to smolder between aggressive flares, along comes a film such as this one - THE OTHER SON or Le fils de l'autre - and provides some insights that at least for the moment offer a better understanding of a very long struggle. Based on an idea by Noam Fitoussi who wrote the screenplay with Director Lorraine Lévy and Nathalie Saugeon, this is a gentle film about resolution of conflict - at least on the family level. It is a French production filmed in the West Bank and Israel under the sensitive direction of Lorraine Lévy.
It's not uncommon for those who rightly resent being biologically categorized on government questionnaires, to defiantly write in `human' when asked to indicate their race. And the same holds true in its own compelling but curious way for the switched at birth DNA-driven...
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