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Poster for 5 Broken Cameras

5 Broken Cameras

2011 · 1h 30m · NOT RATED Documentary, War
Directed by Emad Burnat , Guy Davidi

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Overview

Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously chose nonviolent resistance when the Israeli army encroached upon its land to make room for Jewish colonists. Emad buys his first camera in 2005 to document the birth of his fourth son, Gibreel. Over the course of the film, he becomes the peaceful archivist of an escalating struggle as olive trees are bulldozed, lives are lost, and a wall is built to segregate burgeoning Israeli settlements.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
Fresh

This is how the conflict looks from the other side of the barrier.

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
Fresh

A tough watch that'll leave you despairing of peace anytime soon.

Cath Clarke, Time Out
Fresh

As raw as the material of "5 Broken Cameras" can be, it is also lyrical and elegiac.

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

[A] bit jagged, inevitably incomplete, and in no way news-breaking: it is simply moving.

Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic
Fresh

Takes the rough material of one man's life and transforms it into a story that is universal and urgent, offering firsthand witness to events that are too often portrayed as distant and impossible to understand.

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

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