Rachel
Directed by Simone Bitton
By Allan Tong

Rachel Corrie was an American peace activist who died beneath a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March 2003. Neither a Palestinian nor Jew, but a college student from Washington state who wanted to witness the destruction of Palestinian homes by Israel Defense Forces for herself, Corrie made headlines around the world as a martyr for the Palestinian cause.

French director Simone Bitton explores her death from all angles. She interviews Palestinians who knew Rachel, American friends, her parents from suburban Olympia, WA, other activists and her political professors at Evergreen State College. Predictably, they paint a portrait of a committed, idealistic young woman who took a big risk. Too big.

To her credit, Bitton gives equal screen time to a spokeswoman of the Israel Defense Forces, an Israeli soldier (in disguise), another soldier who headed the military investigation and even the Israeli doctor who performed Corrie's autopsy. Here, the film takes on greater dimensions. The anonymous solider admits to casually killing innocent civilians to scare Palestinians out of their homes before bulldozers finished the wrecking job. "It was routine," he explains without guilt. The investigator sounds sincere but his findings reek of cover-up. Remarkably, the coroner concludes that the 65-ton bulldozer that Corrie faced did not directly kill her but allows that it played a part. His statement contradicts eyewitnesses at the scene who saw marks on Rachel's body.

There is no video footage of Rachel, just her diaries that others read. Grainy surveillance video, taken from a distance, captures the moments right before the bulldozer struck her. Rachel is absent yet everywhere in this film. Bitton's sympathies lies with Rachel and her cause, 'though she presents all sides of the story.

The director has done her homework but the weakness of the film is the dispassionate tone Rachel adopts. There are numerous talking heads and shots without voices or music. At times, the documentary feels clinical, as if its cool distance is contrasting the fervent idealism of young Rachel Corrie.

In the end, Rachel serves to inflame debate about the Gaza Strip, something that Corrie would've wanted. (Arte France Cinéma)
Dvd Reviews: Clash of the Titans [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Louis Leterrier
Dvd Reviews: Repo Men - Dir. by Miguel Sapochnik
Dvd Reviews: Insomnia [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Christopher Nolan
Dvd Reviews: Being Human: Season One
Dvd Reviews: Animating Reality: A Collection Of Short Documentaries
Dvd Reviews: Batman: Under the Red Hood [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Brandon Vietti
Film Reviews: Dinner for Schmucks - Dir. by Jay Roach
Film Reviews: Countdown to Zero - Dir. by Lucy Walker
Dvd Reviews: A Prophet (Un Prophete) - Dir. by Jacques Audiard
Music DVD Reviews: Black Sabbath - Classic Albums: Paranoid
Music DVD Reviews: Gene Hoglan - The Atomic Clock
Dvd Reviews: Brooklyn’s Finest [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Antoine Fuqua
Dvd Reviews: Operation: Endgame - Dir. by Fouad Mikati
Film Reviews: Salt - Dir. by Philip Noyce
Film Reviews: Gasland - Dir. by Josh Fox
Dvd Reviews: Cop Out [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Kevin Smith
Dvd Reviews: Mother - Dir. by Bong Joon-Ho
Dvd Reviews: Charlie’s Angels [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by McG
Dvd Reviews: The Losers [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Sylvain White
Dvd Reviews: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Dir. by Bong Joon-Ho
Dvd Reviews: Love the Beast - Dir. by Eric Bana
Music DVD Reviews: Chimaira - Coming Alive
Music DVD Reviews: Buck 65 - The Lost Tapes
It's not until the chorus of "Two Lives Worth of Reckoning," the second song on Soilwork's eighth album, that listeners' ears are going to perk up. Until then it's just the band doing the razor sharp, Gothendeath-lite they helped pioneer, morph and run into the ground. But when said chorus kicks in ... Full Review
I officially declare the camera phone a scourge. At every show, there's a forest of video-enabled dorks up front, not watching nor listening, just furiously taping in the hope of catching a flub or fly down for YouTube. The addiction to capturing video of every moment of a show is, to my mind, a narcissistic impulse that degrades the magical ephemera of the live experience. I'm agin' it.... Read More
The fourth iteration of Calgary's Sled Island feels like a coming of age, with the annual event becoming a destination on the Canadian festival landscape alongside NXNE and Pop Montreal. The organizers have a knack for scoring scheduling coups (year one featured Boredoms, Cat Power and Spoon), and w... Full Review
Viewing the October 2007 Issue: Contents PageNewsClick Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Front  •  Points  •  Comics  •  Questionnaire  •  Release Dates  •  Research  •  Timeline  •  Videogames  •  Conversations • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  TIFF  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Label Life  •  Meet & Greet  •  Need to Know  •  What I Play Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue Browse Issues Privacy Policy