Resistance and Resilience in Palestinian Cinema

Staff writer Yi Quan reflects on the recent screenings of Tale of the Three Jewels (1990) and Palestine Under Siege (2023) at NTU Film Society.

As part of NTU Film Society’s introduction to the Cinema of Palestine, Society members had a chance to catch two significant Palestinian films, Michael Khleifi’s coming-of-age drama Tale of The Three Jewels (1990), and the documentary Palestine Under Siege (2023). Tale of the Three Jewels is part drama and part allegory, chronicling 12-year-old Yusef’s journey to seek the titular treasure for his hand in marriage to Aida, a gypsy girl. The film sets its imaginative love story against the backdrop of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip under occupation by the Israeli army. As for Palestine Under Siege (2023), the documentary follows three Jewish and Palestinian human rights activists as they travel to the West Bank, bearing witness to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination against Israeli apartheid. Although the films differ in genre and time period, they both explore themes of trauma and hope, while offering an intimate view into Palestinian culture and traditions.

As defined by trauma studies in film and literary theory, the term refers to a severely disruptive experience that profoundly impacts the self’s emotional organisation and perception of the external world. Rooted in Freudian psychoanalytic theory, trauma studies suggest that the traumatic experience challenges the limits of language, rendering it unspeakable or unrepresentable. In face of the psychological trauma of war and violence, both films serve as a space in which this experience is given voice, whether directly or indirectly, through a focus on individual narratives.

Palestine Under Siege lays bare the violence and terror inflicted by Israeli apartheid, interspersing footage of interviews with survivors of Nakba and mass displacement with photographic and video evidence spanning decades. Through personal accounts of the historical events, the documentary gives voice to the survivors, directly confronting the trauma of ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism.

Conversely, Tale of the Three Jewels explores trauma through the perspective of its young protagonists growing up in Israel-occupied Gaza. What struck me about the film was the convalescence of childlike innocence in its adolescent protagonists, who were forced to grow up and mature beyond their years. Youthful naivete attempts to grapple with the senseless violence and loss, resulting in solemn declarations made by the characters which are simultaneously childish and too grown-up.

Yusef’s freedom fighter brother says to him: “Tell Mom we’re grown men,” while Yusef professes his love to Aida and schemes to escape to America in search of the missing jewels. This urgency to grow up, either to resist their oppressors or run from the situation entirely, surfaces repeatedly throughout the film, emphasising the psychological impact of trauma on the youth of Palestine.

As the first feature film to be shot entirely in Gaza, Tale of the Three Jewels is also a celebration of Palestinian culture and traditions. Yusef’s adventures bring us through different portions of the Gaza Strip, from the refugee camp where he lives, to his friend Salah’s three-storey house in the rich neighbourhood, and Aida’s family home in the gypsy settlement. We follow along as the children frolic in the woods, hear their songs and observe the games they play, and join their families at the dinner table. Beyond a bildungsroman, the film is an ode to the land and its people.

Palestine Under Siege takes a different approach to this, offering a retrospective view of a childhood spent growing up in the West Bank. A tripod-mounted iPhone captures a hillside covered in abandoned and dilapidated structures – suggestions that a village had once stood in its place.

Interspersing footage of the abandoned and dilapidated buildings with descriptions of scenes of a simple, rural life, the documentary invites viewers to reconstruct the image of ‘home’, and reflect on what it means to those who have lost it.

The trauma and profound loss depicted in both films are underpinned by a steady sense of hope, and an optimism for the possibility of freedom and homecoming. Palestine Under Siege spotlights efforts to rebuild homes for Palestinian families on the West Bank. The documentary places emphasis on the significance of the act as active resistance to the decades of systematic demolition and displacement of Palestinians from their homes. The activists also use the word “stubborn” to describe the Palestinians, who continue to struggle and resist their oppressors.

Tale of the Three Jewels expresses these sentiments through its use of symbolism, employing saturated colours to bring to life the vivid hopes and dreams of its young characters.

Yusef’s royal blue sweater vest, Aida’s vermillion shoes, the bright lipstick Suad applies carefully in the mirror, and orange for the seemingly endless fruit growing in the grove owned by Salah’s father. The unapologetically vibrant hues contrast against the muted backdrops and represent, against the odds, an unbridled sense of hope and yearning for freedom. 

But perhaps among the most striking images from the film are those of the beach. The wide shots of the coast highlight the boundlessness of the sea, and expansiveness of the skies. The act of placing the characters against this backdrop protests against the occupation of Palestinian land and serves as a symbol of the immense hope held by the people, that one day they will return to their land, free to dance and swim on their beaches.

While the films employ different methods of storytelling, both unite Palestinians’ memories from near and distant pasts with their hopes for the future in a powerful display of resilience against oppression and violence. Film thus acts as a medium to publicly manifest these sentiments in an inherently political act of resistance. 

As bystanders to the conflict and foreign viewers of Palestinian cinema, it is imperative to be open to humanistic portrayals of the individuals involved and to acknowledge representations of trauma and uplift voices of the oppressed.

Editors’ note: This article has been published a year after the events of 7 October 2023. To learn more about how the tragedies are being reported, please visit CNA and Al Jazeera.