InsIDe: - Palestine Solidarity Campaign

spring2011 arts & reviewspalestine news 29Journeys of the mindPowerfully affecting,” “a one-sided rant,” “brilliant, edge-of-thesofadrama,” “anti-semitic,” “should be compulsory viewing”:the comments about The Promise are still flooding ontothe internet. When Peter Kosminsky’s gripping drama wasscreened in February by Channel 4 it aroused more controversy —and inspired more dazzling reviews — than any TV drama in recentyears.Essentially it moves between the events leading up to thePalestinian Nakba in 1948 and current events in Israel and theOccupied Territories. The story is told through the eyes of Len, ayoung British sergeant posted to Palestine after assisting in theliberation of Belsen at the end of World War II, and through hisgranddaughter, Erin, who has discovered his diaries. Her trip toIsrael with her best friend, who is Israeli and has been called upto serve in the IDF, turns into an increasingly obsessive mission tocontact a Palestinian family Len befriended.Every key angle is covered. In Len’s story we see desperateJewish refugees fleeing the nightmare of the holocaust; ruthlessIrgun guerrillas; Len’s Jewish girlfriend who acts as an informer forthem; the kidnapping, torture, hanging and blowing up of Britishsoldiers; the massacre of Deir Yassin; the Palestinian family whobelieve that they will soon return to their home.“Erin’s physical and mental journeyparallels that of many outsiders whostart from a position of ignoranceand who are shocked and tested bythe reality they encounter”In Erin’s story we see her friend Eliza’s well-meaning “softZionist” parents; their peace activist son, disillusioned andpoliticised after serving in Hebron; his Palestinian friend who actsas Erin’s guide in the Occupied Territories; violent settlers, complicitIsraeli soldiers, suicide bombings, the siege of Gaza...Somehow Kosminsky has managed to weld all these elementsinto a hugely powerful and involving drama. Both Len and ErinErin (Clare Foy) discovers the WallPeter Kosminsky (right) on location with Mohammed (AliSuliman) and Len (Christian Cooke)go on a physical and mental journey of discovery and deepeningunderstanding — hers parallels that of many outsiders who startfrom a position of ignorance and who are shocked and tested by thereality they encounter.At a packed meeting at the Royal Television Society on 16 March,Kosminsky explained how the original idea was triggered by a letterfrom a British veteran telling of his experiences in Palestine after thewar and how he and his comrades felt forgotten and betrayed.Kosminsky’s researcher, Helen Barton, delved into the archives ofthe period and interviewed as many surviving veterans as possible— Len’s experiences and reactions are a distillation of this research.The idea of running Erin’s story alongside her grandfather’semerged as Kosminsky came across parallels between events inBritish-mandated Palestine and the present day, such as the Britishdynamiting the homes of Zionist terrorists and the IDF bulldozingthe homes of suicide bombers.Kosminsky said he approached the whole issue with absolutelyno agenda beyond turning his research into watchable drama.For instance, Len’s feelings shift from sympathy with the Jewishrefugees to antipathy as Zionist guerrillas target British soldiers, thento sympathy with the indigenous Palestinians whose likely fate wasbecoming increasingly clear. In this he simply mirrors the changingemotions reported by the veterans.No doubt aware of the likely impact of his work, Kosminskycarried out an immense amount of research himself, spendingmonths reading respected modern Israeli historians, and a team oflawyers vetted the accuracy of all the facts referred to in the film. Hesaid he was taken aback by the “highly intemperate” language usedby some viewers who simply would not accept that Israel couldbehave in the way described.He talked about the challenges of filming on location — virtuallythe whole film was made in Israel with Jewish and Palestinian Israeliactors — and he paid tribute to the professionalism of his Israelifilm crew and cast. He said: “There was a scene where a Jewishactress plays a Jewish settler, who has a screaming match with aPalestinian woman played by an Israeli Arab. It was a very hostilescene, it felt tense. At the end they wanted to be photographedtogether as actors.”Hilary Wise• The Promise is available on DVD from Play.com or Amazon