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Cast: Freida Pinto, Willem Dafoe, Hiam Abbass, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Metwally
From Academy Award® nominated director Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), and based on the acclaimed semi-autobiographical novel, Miral is the story of a Palestinian girl coming of age amidst the war zone of the Israeli-Arab conflict -- unflinchingly told through the perspective of Miral (Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire) herself. Following the death of her troubled mother, Miral's father (Alexander Siddig) is forced to entrust her to the orphanage of Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass), a woman whose commitment to peace through education has a profound impact on the maturing young woman as her epic journey to self-esteem and social consciousness proves both harrowing and hopeful. Also starring Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave.
After director's Julian Schnabel critical success of such films as "Basquiat," "Before Night Falls," and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" one would think "Miral" would of gotten a bigger push in theaters at the time of it's release but sadly there seemed to be very little mention on it at the time. The film is based on a true story from a book by Rula Jebreal, the story is about the lives of Palestinian women under difficult circumstances, both inside and outside their homes but we mostly see it through the journey in life of one young woman, Miral. This is a coming-of-age story of a young women who was born in a time economic, social and political climate where not very good. The film's tag line, "Is this the face of a terrorist?" doesn't really tell the whole story, sure there's extremists and everything else that goes with terrorism in the film but the main focus is on this beautiful young woman who shows great bravery, self confidence and the will to over-come it all. To talk a whole lot about what happens in the film would only ruin the experience of seeing it so I'm not going to go into details and ruin it for those who have been looking forward to it. The cast members including, Freida Pinto, Willem Dafoe, Hiam Abbass, Vanessa Redgrave and Omar Metwally all give terrific performances.
"Miral" is a story A story of struggle, perseverance and success in a time when the odds were against Palestinian woman, it's also a story about making a difference. A truly inspiring film that sends some powerful messages, a must see film.
The MIRAL Blu-ray™ and DVD bonus features include deleted scenes; “The Making of Miral” featurette; a Studio Tour with Julian Schnabel; a Filmmaker Q&A; and an Audio Commentary with director Julian Schnabel and producer Jon Kilik. Note: Special features are subject to change. You can order the DVD HERE and the Blu-ray HERE.
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
**** Out Of *****