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| Natalie heads into Amos' Free Zone | |
The film, which explores the bitter realities of Middle Eastern conflict, was the first Israeli movie filmed in an Arab country. Jerusalemite Portman plays Rebecca, an American Jewish woman, who, having just split from her Spanish-Israeli fiancé, embarks on a road trip with an unlikely group. Celebrated Spanish actress Carmen Maura also makes an appearance. In a bid to escape the painful memories of the break-up, Rebecca joins Hanna (Hanna Lazlo), a middle aged Israeli woman who is determined to collect a large debt owed to her injured husband by his business partner, known as 'The American'. The journey takes them from Jerusalem to the Free Zone - a tax-free region where those from countries at war trade cars with one another. Arriving at their destination the mystery businessman is nowhere to be found but they encounter Leila (Hiam Abbas), a Palestinian woman, who claims to know the whereabouts of the elusive debtor. Lazlo won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role.
Angels want the Commandments STEPHEN FRY stars in the intriguing The Discovery of Heaven, released on DVD next week. In the 2001 film, God wants the 10 Commandments back, but no angel is allowed to travel to earth to get them. The angels have to 'create' a human being smart enough to find the stone tablets, and willing to sacrifice their life to return them to heaven. Fry plays Onno Quist, an eccentric linguist and son of a former Prime Minister, while Greg Wise stars as Max Delius, son of a Nazi father and a Jewish mother. Cellist Ada Brons (Flora Montgomery) becomes pregnant with the angels' special one. Directed by Jeroen Krabbe, The Discovery of Heaven won the best screenplay at the Netherlands Film Festival. Krabbe is a Dutch-born Jewish director, whose films have included Left Luggage, about Orthodox Jews in Antwerp.
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I'M FREE: Natalie Portman, centre, with Carmen Maura and Hanna
Lazlo