An unofficial meeting in Oslo back in the 1990s between Israeli and Palestinian representatives seems an oddly specific thing to want to make a film on, and, on the face of it, an even stranger thing to want to celebrate, considering the state of that region even today: What did they achieve? What has changed? What there will EVER change?
But it does a lot with very little - a tiny cast, almost all in a single location - and successfully opens what was originally a stage play up to look and feel very cinematic. The acting is nuanced and engaging, and while the end result of it may all seem a little naive and simplistic, it's entertainingly done, and feels much like other real-life-stories executive producer Spielberg has had a hand in, such as Munich and, especially, Bridge Of Spies.
There's nothing groundbreaking or truly first rate here, but this is a nice film with nice sentiments, best summed up in the words of one of the characters in it:
"Our peoples live in the past, both obsessing over what we have lost.
Let us find a way to live in the present."
But it does a lot with very little - a tiny cast, almost all in a single location - and successfully opens what was originally a stage play up to look and feel very cinematic. The acting is nuanced and engaging, and while the end result of it may all seem a little naive and simplistic, it's entertainingly done, and feels much like other real-life-stories executive producer Spielberg has had a hand in, such as Munich and, especially, Bridge Of Spies.
There's nothing groundbreaking or truly first rate here, but this is a nice film with nice sentiments, best summed up in the words of one of the characters in it:
"Our peoples live in the past, both obsessing over what we have lost.
Let us find a way to live in the present."