Mr. Mograbi delivers another complex journey into the deep psyche of the Israeli murder machine. The filmmaker always thinks his projects all the way through and Z32 also lacks any ideological gaps. Z32 is the file number of one soldier's testimony of his unit's revenge mission where he ambushed and killed unarmed Palestinians. He agrees to do the film, but only if his face is not shown.
If the challenge of making a film based on an interview with one person without showing his face isn't enough, Mograbi decides that it should be a musical as well. The filmmaker sings in his living room throughout the piece, songs he wrote himself while making the film. Catchy lyrics include, "Put a mask on him so we don't have to see what evil looks like," "Am I harboring a murderer because it makes a good film," and "My wife said, 'Don't film him in our living room.'" The filmmaker once again dives into the village to show us the universal and isn't afraid of the absurdity intrinsic in the horror.
Mr. Mograbi and I had a brief but meaningful conversation after the film about Truth and Reconciliation Trials. In his words, "We have to say what we've done to each other."
If the challenge of making a film based on an interview with one person without showing his face isn't enough, Mograbi decides that it should be a musical as well. The filmmaker sings in his living room throughout the piece, songs he wrote himself while making the film. Catchy lyrics include, "Put a mask on him so we don't have to see what evil looks like," "Am I harboring a murderer because it makes a good film," and "My wife said, 'Don't film him in our living room.'" The filmmaker once again dives into the village to show us the universal and isn't afraid of the absurdity intrinsic in the horror.
Mr. Mograbi and I had a brief but meaningful conversation after the film about Truth and Reconciliation Trials. In his words, "We have to say what we've done to each other."