"Lessons Learned"
This subtitled documentary interviews a number of former judges and legal officials who formulated and implemented the legal structure of the territories conquered by Israel in the 1967 War. In tone and substance, it is quite reminiscent of "The Gatekeepers"--but seems to have some built in bias which you easily detect upon viewing. Some of the producers' voiceovers are convoluted and over-philosophical--having to do with the question of, "What is truth?". In any case, this is a great film for viewers interested in the Middle East conflict. It is further enhanced by a number of vintage newsreels. In terms of lessons learned, this film amplifies the difficulties of establishing a legal system that attempts to balance justice with national security issues in a hostile and violent environment.
Unique and oddly powerful documentary.
Essentially a series of talking heads; interviews with the military judges who presided over the military
courts in the territory Israel annexed during the 6 day war.. Mixed in, occasionally playing behind these
men on a green screen are snippets of archival footage of the conflicts in the occupied territories.
Hearing this description, one could well assume the film would be dry and academic, but the ideas beneath
what it being quietly discussed are so powerful and disturbing that the film works as a kind of documentary
theater piece. By focusing on one specific aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli filmmaker
Alexandrwicz gives a deeper sense of the legal and moral hypocrisy of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians
than many wider ranging and flashier documentaries.
By simply having these judges try to explain the odd military justice applied to the native people of the land Israel
occupied, and how the courts...
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