Where Olive Trees Weep (2024) 🎬 →

Where Olive Trees Weep (2024) is an important but deeply troubling film. It shines a light on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, digging into the core issues at the heart of this international crisis.

I’ve never fully understood the details of this conflict—especially how things escalated to where they are today—so watching this documentary was eye-opening, to say the least. It frames the situation as a violent colonization effort, carried out by a nation representing a people who themselves endured one of the most horrific atrocities in history, the Holocaust. This perspective is not something we often hear in mainstream media, and it really made me pause and reflect.

I’m not about to claim expertise in this—or any—international conflict. But it’s clear that systematically oppressing an entire population and trying to erase them from both their land and existence is indefensible. Whether it’s under the guise of security, the rights of another group, or historical injustices, there’s no justification for the level of ongoing violence and hate directed at Palestinians.

But back to the documentary...

One thing that didn’t quite land for me was the inclusion of Gabor Maté. Don’t get me wrong—his work on trauma is powerful, and his perspective is valuable. But in this film, it felt like an afterthought. He’s featured here and there, but his involvement isn’t given much weight. The segment at the end, where he works with women who survived unimaginable violence, felt rushed and oddly placed. It seemed like the filmmakers tried to cram in his contributions without giving them the depth or context they deserved.

That said, Where Olive Trees Weep is still an incredibly moving and important film. It’s one I’ll be encouraging others to watch because it opens up a conversation that we all need to have.