The Syrian Bride.

The Syrian Bride is a 2004 movie directed by Eran Riklis, it tales the story of a woman of the Golan Heights, that is about to get married to a man in Syria, whom she doesnt know. If she is to marry, she will lose the freedom to come back to Jerusalem, as after 1981, Jerusalem captured the region and effectively eliminated the Syrian citizenship of its inhabitants. After that, the border between the nations became a militarized area, making free transit virtually impossible. Several families got separated from one day to another, similarly to what happened in Berlin after the construction of the wall. After this, Syrians of the Golan could regain their citizenship by marrying a Syrian citizen on the other side of the border; this could only be accomplished by marrying a person without ever meeting them. This also meant not being able to ever return to Israel, with ones family. In the movie we see the results of a divided town, with the inhabitants of the Golan communicating to the other side with loud speakers and yelling. The militarized area does not communicate to the Syrian side, and the papers for the documentation of a marriage are carried by a Red Cross agent from outpost to outpost. One of the significant events of the movie is the new policy of Israel of changing a staple with which the passports are marked. In the former one, it says Golan Heights, in the new one, it reads Israel. This generates polemic in the Syrian outpost, since they say the Golan Heights are still part of Syria, even though the territory is occupied, it remains that, an occupied territory belonging to Syria. When Israel changes the staple, it is making a declaration to the Syrians that the Golan Heights now are indeed part of Israel. This is a very interesting movie in which we can observe several different elements. Cultural differences, political misunderstandings, warfare results, colonial heritage, sexism, etc. These are all elements of human life, and they make a statement of the human condition. I think that the cultural element is more important than the political, but the political can in time, modify the culture. Culture and Politics therefore, function in conjunction when they are jeopardized by one another. In the movie we see clearly the condition of women, and how they are treated as they have been treated for thousands of years. The Middle East is a region that has been the witness of a history of warfare and destruction. Recent years have shown an imaginary improvement between the Islamic countries and Israel, however, I believe they arent at all near solid agreements.