Torn Apart

In a film that might have been called 'West Bank Story' an innocent but forbidden friendship between a young Israeli soldier and the Arab girl-next-door blossoms into romance when the two are reunited in a hostile, rock-tossing Palestinian community on the wrong side of the Jordan River. The lovers try their best to overcome the adversity of their environment, but someone should have done what the title suggests to an early draft of the script before it ever went before a camera. Aside from all the soft focus inanities and syrupy music score, the film is characterized by inadequate acting and direction, a poorly recorded soundtrack (actually a blessing in disguise), and a Harlequin Romance view of Middle Eastern politics. It's almost worth the price of admission for the unintended laughs, for example when Ben tells Leila they should leave their troubled homeland to live together somewhere in peace and tranquility, and then suggests New York City (!!) as a possibility.