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The film's focus is ultimately on the Jews themselves, and how the withdrawal from Gaza profoundly affected some people's understanding of what it means to be an Israeli. What lingers in the memory are the settlers who loudly denounce the Israeli soldiers—one calling the evacuation a "Holocaust" and giving the soldiers a "Heil Hitler!", another tearfully proclaiming that she buried her grandson in the Gaza Strip and demanding that the women in uniform share her grief—as well as the deeply moving displays of, and appeals to, religious and ethnic solidarity in the midst of potential conflict. Soldiers and settlers share hugs and tears around one man's Torah scroll, and it is striking, to say the least, how soldiers entering a house to forcibly remove its residents, with plans to destroy the house down the road, still feel compelled to venerate the mezuzah (a piece of scripture placed on Jewish doorposts in accordance with Deuteronomy 6:9) on their way in through the door.

Unsettled does not offer a complete picture of the Israeli-Palestinian situation, nor does it pretend to. What it does do is open a window into an aspect of that situation that might not have occurred to many of us. And while it offers no easy answers, it raises all sorts of messy but important questions—and it does so by immersing the viewer in the personal experiences of others in a most compassionate way.

Talk About It

1. Some of the Jewish settlers say the land is theirs because God gave it to Israel in the Bible. What do you make of that argument? Do those Old Testament passages still apply today? How is the modern state of Israel the same as, or different from, the nation of Israel as depicted in the Old Testament?
2. How have you handled intense disagreements with your fellow believers? Do the people in this film model any behavior worth emulating? What difference does it make, if any, that people on both sides of this issue shared a reverence for the Torah and for other traditions such as venerating the mezuzah?
3. What sorts of attitudes do these people have towards the Palestinians? Do any of them—on either side of the debate—express any love or support for the Palestinians? What sort of approach should they take towards the Palestinians? Is it possible to find peace even when both sides have different scriptures and different interpretations of those scriptures?

The Family Corner

Unsettled is not rated by the MPAA, but would probably be PG or PG-13. It includes loud arguments and images of soldiers forcibly removing people from their homes, as well as news footage of the aftermath of terrorist attacks, but no direct depictions of violence. A couple of four-letter words are also spoken.

Photos © Copyright Resonance Pictures

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