First review: Miral is a moving portrayal of life in Israel for Palestinian women

His victim this time is a Palestinian girl living in Israel who is eventually radicalised by the indignities heaped upon her people day by day.

Miral, who is sent to an orphanage in Jerusalem when her mother dies, is just one of the Palestinian women we see. Many lives are derailed by the events portrayed as Schnabel traces Israel’s history from its beginnings in the Forties to the destruction of refugee camps in the Nineties.

The film moves backwards and forwards in time, sometimes confusingly. But its point is well made. Apart from Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave, who take only minor parts, the cast are virtually unknown in the west. But they play with an emotional skill that points up the story convincingly.

The film is taken from a book by Rula Jebreal, who co-wrote the screenplay and describes the film as a cry for peace detailing the consequences of political and cultural violence and taking in both domestic and sexual abuse.

There is a comforting side to the story as we see the brave founder of the orphanage, which started with 50 children and ended with nearly 1,000, fighting to keep her school open despite the obstacles placed in her way by the Israeli government.

Despite its fragmentary style, it’s appropriate that the film should be shown at Venice as President Obama attempts to re-launch the Middle East peace process.

Miral