Film: Rachel
Year of production: 2009
Running time: 100 mins
Director: Simone Bitton
Genre: Documentary
Country: France/Belgium
Language: English/Arabic/Hebrew
This film was screened at the 2011 London Palestine Film Festival.
On March 16th 2003, Rachel Corrie, a young American woman volunteering as a peaceful activist in the southern Gaza strip town of Rafah, was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer in an act many witnesses claim was deliberate, but, predictably, the local police and government deemed an accident. Through varied accounts from fellow activists, local towns folk and members of the IDF (Israeli Defense Force), documentary maker Simone Bitton attempts to show but never tell the events that led to this disastrous incident, leaving us, the viewer to take what evidence there is and come to our own conclusion from her hushed, solemn investigation.
For those unfamiliar with the ongoing dispute within the Gaza strip, Corrie’s work for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) focused on preventing the destruction of innocent civilians’ homes, which are being torn apart by the Israeli government, who are insistent on building a wall to segregate the borders of their country and Palestine. The issue of where these borders actually lie is the main cause of conflict in this region, resulting in a stalemate that looks unlikely to ever be resolved. The ISM believe these demolitions of Palestinian dwellings to be a breach of international human rights laws. As with most activists who see themselves as prospective martyrs, through peaceful demonstrations, they believed their presence as foreign citizens and the resulting media coverage that the killing of a Western bystander would obviously bring worldwide would help prevent any further loss of lives and the rise of homelessness within the area – apparently they were wrong.
Rachel Corrie’s death was the result of one of these demonstrations that went horribly wrong. Whilst the IDF claim the incident in question was a routine operation and that the bulldozer never made any contact with the young girl, there are numerous eye witnesses who claim otherwise – whether these accounts are truthful, or ammunition used to fight a war which each side perceives to be a justifiable battle against an unjust opposition is very much left for us to decide…
It’s difficult not to look at Rachel as a very one-sided argument. It contains numerous elements that ensure it comes across as a conspiracy story rather than an impartial documentary of the ongoing nightmare of Israeli occupation. This may very well be down to the evidence at hand. The Nixonian edits of the military surveillance, and the staunch, unmerciful Israeli government officials interviewed, added to the incredibly emotional testimonies, can only lead you to one particular conclusion. This isn’t to say it’s the wrong conclusion; however, through these retellings, you are being emotionally blackmailed to side with the ISM. It ultimately undermines the director’s use of Rachel Corrie’s death, and instead of fighting for justice over the unfortunate loss of this young girl’s life, they are clearly using it as a tool to fight a much bigger battle, especially as Bitton (and interviewed members of the ISM) seem to insists that the tragedy in Rafah is much greater that the death of one American protester. In fairness, though, we are mercifully denied shots of our courageous Rachel being run-over and Bitton prevents herself from showing subjective shots of carnage. Instead, she only allows us to view equally as horrific signs of gunfire through countless shots of bullet ridden homes and the rubble resulting from numerous demolitions. This, to a point, works equally as well, but without succumbing to any easy, cheap, manipulative devices that she so easily could have chosen to use. Whether the ambiguity of these countless victims resonates with you or not, it’s certainly makes clear why Corrie was here and the ideological battle she was fighting.
Bitton is no stranger to this conflict and with her previous documentary, The Wall, Rachel is very much a sequel in a continuous fight for the freedom of those in occupied Palestine. This documentary is already aimed at a particular audience, who have already decided which side of the fence (or wall) they stand on, and thus may leave newcomers feeling a little uneducated and ultimately susceptible to its weighted message.
Bitton’s decision to include far too many accounts from members of the ISM is also questionable. Despite the heartfelt accounts of the local people who celebrate their presence as something a kin to ‘a gift from god’, the members themselves are the kind of self-righteous charity workers who constantly harass you in town centres in an attempt to make you feel worthless and selfish to help benefit their cause. It’s an initial stumbling block which becomes increasingly difficult to forget.
However, the noticeable coldness of the Israeli officials hardly helps in presenting an impartial documentary, with comments such as: “On the one hand, it’s troubling that a civilian was killed. On the other hand, these soldiers were fighting for their lives whenever they were in this zone.” Perhaps Bitton’s failure to ask slightly more probing questions (although understandable due to the very real threat of further repercussions) when interviewing these officials was a missed opportunity to further uncover the true extent of their inhuman approach, and to garnish a little more information about what they’re withholding .
Rachel is certainly a story that needs to be told, it’s just unfortunate that it comes across a little too one-sided for it to standout as a necessary piece of anti Israeli occupation filmmaking. If you have a vested interest in the subject matter at hand then Rachel, no doubt, will fit comfortably within your other viewing and background research. However, as a standalone piece of work, this softly spoken documentary comes across as a little too opinionated for its message to evoke the same volume of passion as Bitton no doubt desired it to achieve. However, the film’s closing shot of children playing football amongst the domestic rubble does raise the question of how easy is it to politicize the death of Rachel Corrie without first processing the violence which now constitutes normality amongst the citizens of the Gaza Strip. Indeed, previous knowledge of this background information will no doubt dictate your level of appreciation for this well-meaning documentary. PG
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