What I like from the movies of Oliver Stone? (Just had a look over a quite long list and discovered I've seen only, to be indulgent, 10%.) Natural Born Killers, and People vs. Larry Flint and Wall Street. As for documentaries, covering hot political subjects, I always think twice before seeing them, simply because I'm looking for more than common places and ignorant glamorous stars trying to fight for causes they are supporting because they could get an opportunity to be on the first page of the magazines. It's a serious reason I consider Michael Moore's propagandist works, even rising serious subject, a superficial and dangerously simplified way to see the world and he's not too far away of those he pretends to expose.
Oliver Stone is not a political literate and expert. He seized the opportunity, put a bit of curiosity and used his experience as a film director and went in 2003, in the Middle East. Where, as usual, another conflict was on the way, between - you guessed - Israel and the Palestinians. He have a high ranking distribution - Ehud Barak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Hamas leaders.. Including Hasan Yousef whose son become recently a Christian and revealed many of the inside-the-house secrets regarding the nature of this movement, many are purposive or not avoiding these days. Yasser Arafat could be seen only through old video recordings. And we see Ariel Sharon only on TV.
Even with a naive curiosity, Oliver Stone wants to know, to get more from his characters - more or less wise or sincere. But the lack of knowledge is not an excuse and almost childish, when Yousef is asking him :"What you gonna do if you house would be attacked?", he's answering: "Exactly like you".
Since then, the circumstances changed - Arafat died, Hamas seems to hold the lion's share among the Palestinians, but the war is still going on and on. Shimon Peres, together with the late Yitzhak Rabin and Arafat, is the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2002-2003 one of the dilema of the moment was what to do with Arafat - to let him living in his Muqata headquartes or to expell so far so good. Hilarious or not, they have been voices among the Nobel Committee complaining that maybe the prize should be recalled, with an exclusive reference to Shimon Peres.
Peres, is having the last word in the "movie" warning that "teaching history is dangerous". "We have to teach our children to develop imagination not memory; to educate the children to learn the history of the future, not the history of the past".
And a doubtful taste, pathetic speculation: "Who's Persona Non Grata" in the movie? The Reason.
Even with a naive curiosity, Oliver Stone wants to know, to get more from his characters - more or less wise or sincere. But the lack of knowledge is not an excuse and almost childish, when Yousef is asking him :"What you gonna do if you house would be attacked?", he's answering: "Exactly like you".
Since then, the circumstances changed - Arafat died, Hamas seems to hold the lion's share among the Palestinians, but the war is still going on and on. Shimon Peres, together with the late Yitzhak Rabin and Arafat, is the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2002-2003 one of the dilema of the moment was what to do with Arafat - to let him living in his Muqata headquartes or to expell so far so good. Hilarious or not, they have been voices among the Nobel Committee complaining that maybe the prize should be recalled, with an exclusive reference to Shimon Peres.
Peres, is having the last word in the "movie" warning that "teaching history is dangerous". "We have to teach our children to develop imagination not memory; to educate the children to learn the history of the future, not the history of the past".
And a doubtful taste, pathetic speculation: "Who's Persona Non Grata" in the movie? The Reason.
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