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O Jerusalem
Samuel Goldwyn Films

O Jerusalem reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 39 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.0 out of 10
based on 11 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for some war scenes

Starring JJ Feild, Saïd Taghmaoui, Maria Papas, Patrick Bruel, and Ian Holm

O Jerusalem meticulously re-creates the historic struggle surrounding the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. At the center of these events are two young, American friends--one Jewish, the other Arab. The film is told from the alternating viewpoints of the Jews, Arabs, and Brits, all of whom collide in their fight for the control of Jerusalem while bringing to the forefront themes of courage, terrorism, deprivation, politics, and a strong sense of morality. Their involvement takes them from the streets of New York to the Holy Land, where they risk their lives--making incredible sacrifices along the way--to fight for what they believe in as the city of their dreams teeters on the brink of destruction. The film, based on historical accounts from the best-selling novel O Jerusalem written by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, offers a rich background to an explosive conflict that echoes the situation in the Middle East today. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Elie Chouraqui
Didier Le Pêcheur
 
DIRECTED BY: Elie Chouraqui  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: May 12, 2009 
Theatrical: October 17, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: France / UK / Italy / Greece / Israel / USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

50
TV Guide Ken Fox
Formulaic film recounts the tumultuous birth of Israel.
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50
Variety John Anderson
Features some first-rate cinematography and solid acting, but absolutely no sense of emotional boundaries.
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50
Miami Herald Marta Barber
What is evident from the film is that there was never any chance these two peoples could make a peaceful coexistence.
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50
Boston Globe Linda Matchan
Alas, it aspires to be an epic drama but suffers from an acute identity crisis: It can't decide if it wants to be history, drama, or a cry for peace in the Mideast.
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50
Village Voice Ella Taylor
Imagine watching Otto Preminger's equally silly 1960 "Exodus" now and you'll have O Jerusalem, minus Paul Newman's blue-eyed wink.
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50
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
As overstated and expository as a historical pageant, from the drippy music to a sputtering, running gag involving funky old jalopies to cliched speeches and teary-eyed deaths and a final voice-over crying out for peace. Why not add a song score and an exclamation mark in the title?
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40
The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
Whether on a Middle Eastern battlefield or the streets of New York, characters converse in stilted, expository mouthfuls that smother emotion.
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40
The Hollywood Reporter Stephen Farber
O Jerusalem has the virtue of energy, but it suffers from superficiality, particularly with regard to the characterizations.
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40
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Makes the mistake of including too sweeping a scope in too small a movie and with too few resources.
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38
Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson
As a pocket history of the battles over Jerusalem in the ’40s, O Jerusalem is serviceable enough. But all the melodrama cheapens the real drama, and turns a war-torn region into a soap-opera stage.
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30
Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
This bloated 2006 historical epic flatlines early and never regains a pulse.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Paul D. gave it a5:
Attempts an even-handed look at origins of Israel, but music swells up when Jewish personal tragedies and danger appear, but much less so on the Palestinian side. Protagonists on opposite sides "meet cute" in New York, and then somehow keep meeting in Jerusalem when their respective sides are fighting each other. Tries do do too much and is not really convincing. Sound was also not too good in the version I saw.

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