In this film we meet Israelis who have incredible histories, and through them we, as American viewers, come into deeper contact with the history of Israel. We start to feel a relationship with these speakers, without knowing, for most of the film, where they are on the political spectrum. The impossibly complex story of Israel is told through the personal stories of the speakers, and also from footage of the events. It becomes a very powerful telling and I think that everyone who sees the film will feel the the greatness of the country and the extreme difficulties of it's internal conflicts and divisions. The filmmakers made excellent choices of who to interview; there are some great people on screen. I wish this film could be seen by so many people who know only one side of the issues of the other. The filmmakers have done their best to balance a number of perspectives.

Colliding Dreams is an excellent guide through the fraught aspirations and drives which have shaped Zionism and which flow from it. The complex history is presented with sympathy for all and a clarity and balance that allow the viewer to come away empowered to engage, at least, in informed listening. The film contains fascinating historical footage and nuanced and candid interviews with experts, historical actors and contemporaries with many different perspectives. As a result the viewer gains a layered and deepening understanding as the story moves from the roots of Zionism through Israeli history to the current wave of religious Zionism. While commentators, above, who want be proved right may be disappointed, viewers wanting to see how successive hopes have been fulfilled or foundered and what the costs have been are rewarded.

I won't repeat the excellent and thorough review above, except to state that this film is seriously defective and racist. According to the film maker, who I met this evening, he is trying to discuss the conflict from an Israeli view. However, he gives ample time to Arabs and does not balance their errors with corrective interviews, The general tone goes like this,"if the mature Jews would be nice to the Arab children, the children will be behave and we can all get along". It's all about what the Jews have done wrong. He states that there were no problems between Arabs and Jews until the Zionist arrived. Wrong. He states that the PLO/PA has recognized Israel. Wrong. He states that Israel needs to leave the west bank but does not state that the PA has rejected peace deals from three Israeli Prime Ministers. I could go on, but let me summarize like this, if you want to see a biased film which bashes Jews and never asks Arabs to take responsibility for their actions, then this is the film for you. If you want a film that examines the complexity of the Israeli-Arab conflict, or a film which looks at the complexity of internal Israeli conflicts and movements, look elsewhere.

This film is an exhaustive three-hour exploration of the forces and ideas which compelled the creation of the state of Israel--the heroism, complexity, desperation, conflicts between Arabs and Jews, and ultimately the dilemmas and tragedy of the current situation.Similar to Ari Shavitz' great book, "My Promised Land", this film takes the approach of interviewing people on all sides of this issue, and seeing the issue from different viewpoints. Even though it is a long film, there is no way that it could include every piece of this complex history. However, I think it does an amazing job of giving voice to all parties, and leaving one with an overall sense of what is going on in Israel and the occupied territories. There is great documentary footage which I had never seen before, and interviews with people like Amos Oz on the one hand; West Bank settlers, Palestinians displaced, etc. This film is a powerful and informed contribution to the discussion of what is going on in the Middle East. It should be seen widely and discussed by everyone interested in getting a glimpse of the reality of what has made Israel what it is today.