No excuses can hide the criminal actions of a Nazi fellow-traveller in this admirably objective documentary, suggests MARTIN HALL
The ghosts of the Nakba
MARIA DUARTE recommends a haunting - and very timely - take on Israeli/Palestinian relations
GHOSTLY REMINDER: A child's toy from 1948, in Muayad Alayan's A House in Jerusalem
PAUL DONOVAN relishes a fascinating exploration of the leading lights of the Labour right in the 1970s
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
A House in Jerusalem (12A)
Directed by Muayad Alayan
PALESTINIAN filmmaker Muayad Alayan explores the lasting effects and scars of the 1948 Nakba against Palestinians through this eerie and haunting supernatural drama.
Directed by Alayan, who co-wrote it with his brother Rami, the film follows Rebecca (Miley Locke), a young British Jewish girl who moves with her father Michael (Johnny Harris) from the UK to their ancestral home in Jerusalem seeking a fresh start in the wake of her mother’s tragic death.
The film, which is semi-autobiographical, is seen through the eyes of Rebecca who is crippled by grief. As unexplained things begin to occur in the house Michael believes Rebecca may be to blame, but she discovers that it is a young Palestinian girl called Rasha (Sheherazade Farrell) who used to live there. She explains to Rebecca how her family were forced to leave during the Nakba and she has been hiding in the well waiting for their return.
Similar stories
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Presence, Flight Risk, Emanuelle and Back in Action
Yorkshire chills, tangled in the dark web, pregnancy diaries and brackish juice: MARIA DUARTE reviews Starve Acre, Red Rooms, My First Film and Beetlejuice
Gangs, flat champagne, nightmare island and completely cuckoo: the Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews new releases Cadejo Blanco, Widow Clicquot, Blink Twice and Cuckoo
BRETT GREGORY speaks to Palestinian director Muayad Alayan about his new film