Inch’Allah is a Hebrew and Arabic foreign language film following the story of a Canadian doctor working in the West Bank of Palestine.
The film follows the doctor as she treats patients at a refugee camp hospital, while living on the opposite side of the Separation Wall.
The film touches on many issues involving Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the presence of hostile Israeli occupation forces and illegal Israeli settlements along the West Bank of Palestine.
Synopsis
Inch’Allah centers on it's main character Chloe, a young French Canadian doctor from Québec. She decides to work abroad with the Red Crescent organization where she is to split her time working between Ramallah and Jerusalem.
When she gets to Palestine she notices first-hand the disparities between Jewish and Palestinian communities. She moves into an apartment within the Israeli populous of the city, living next door to her friend Ava - a soldier in the Israeli armed forces.
At work, Chloe works with Palestinian women daily and takes the responsibility of being the doctor in charge of treating young women with pregnancies.
The remainder of the film follows Chloe as she lives two very different lives on either side of the Israeli/Palestine border. And as she discovers the night and day differences given to Israeli and Palestinian women by the government, military and each other.
The viewer watches Chloe as she continues her work and gets to know her patients on a personal level, learning first-hand just how hard their lives are under unjust occupation.
Important Themes
It's very clear that Inch’Allah touches on a hotbed of issues surrounding the continued reprehensible Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Today there are even designated sections of cities for Jews only. With a huge number of militant checkpoints seen across the country that act as barriers between parts of cities like separation walls themselves.
Additionally, there are Jewish quarters/zones in almost every big to medium-sized city in Palestine which are immensely developed. Whereas Muslim parts of cities lack infrastructure and are governed by military watchdogs.
Some Muslim zones are in such a poor state where many families have had to abandon their homes to live in refugee slums.
For interactive and in-depth maps of the region check out the helpful resources from B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories).
Furthermore, hostilities between Israeli forces and the Palestinian public continue to grow. We continue to hear more and more instances of injustice happening in Palestine at the hands of military soldiers.
From stories of an Israeli soldier killing a Palestinian woman on camera only receiving house arrest and 3 months of prison, to stories of air strikes killing members of the public in Gaza to stories of Israeli forces using rocket fire on Palestinian communities in response for protests.
All of these stories continue to happen almost daily amounting for an endless cycle of detriment for the people living under Israeli occupation.
Due to the nature of Israeli-Palestine conflict it is easy to see why many see that a one-nation state is not a preferred solution. However, as time passes on things only seem as though they will worsen.
Films like Inch’Allah are important because they allow people who have had to endure under brutal occupation to tell their stories. Which gives the viewer a visual of the pain and hardship they go through.
These films show you how it may look on the other side of the fence and may just change your mind on how you perceive past and future events in the region.
Conclusion
Inch’Allah is a film that will definitely leave a lasting effect on you. It tells of a story centered on very complex issue and details the effect the occupation has had on the many men, women and children of the country.
The film focuses on the differences between the two groups and allows for the main character, an outside individual not belonging to any of the two camps, to justify what is going on around her.
Inch’Allah is great look into the Israeli-Palestine conflict. It focuses on the health concerns of women in Palestine and follows a narrative of understanding the current state of inequality seen across the region.
By all means give it a watch, it is a powerful film with many truths.
