in the book blog we have talked quite a bit about the fact that it is hard for fictions about 9.11 to free themselves from the overwhelming symbolism of that day. one would imagine that films about the middle east must deal with this problem constantly. in a radio interview from the extras, director amos gitai says something like, “we are used to being on the news. when something like the tsunami happens and we are not on the evening news, we feel disappointed.” this film tries, successfully i think, to eek a story out of the symbolism, without deluding itself for a second that the symbolism can be bypassed. Continue reading free zone