Mars at Sunrise

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Mars at Sunrise

2013

1h 15m

Drama

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

A Palestinian artist (Ali Suliman) tells a Jewish-American poet (Haale Gafori) how he was tortured by a failed Israeli artist (Guy Elhanan) who wanted to turn him into an informant.

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Drew Hunt

Chicago Reader

Apr 24, 2014

[Habie uses] a narrative framework similar to that of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But whereas that Michel Gondry comedy kept its central plot in focus as it became more visually elaborate, this just grows more alienating.

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Ronnie Scheib

Variety

Feb 10, 2014

Suliman ("Paradise Now," "The Attack") dominates the screen as Khaled, utterly compelling in and out of jail, his magnificent perf tying up cinematic loose ends.

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Feb 6, 2014

Addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through stylized compositions, nontraditional narrative and a stripped-down aesthetic, Jessica Habie's "Mars at Sunrise" distills a war among many to a single, devastating duel.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 16, 2020

3.5/4.0

There are films that stay with you long after the closing credits have rolled on by. Mars at Sunrise is such a film.

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Amy R. Handler

Film Threat

Mar 25, 2014

4.5/5

What I most appreciate about Habie's little cinematic gem is that it ends on an uncontrived, completely believable up beat.

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Chris Klimek

The Dissolve

Feb 13, 2014

2.5/5

[Jessica] Habie's fractured narrative style-particularly her arbitrary shifts from Khaled's perspective to Eyal's to (apparently) third-person reality-stymies the accumulation of any dramatic momentum from scene to scene

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Aug 28, 2014

I saw this film at the 2013 Arab Film Festival in San Francisco and it was one of the best ones of the 40+ I saw. Creative, moving and unforgetable. Watch it! Thank you Jessica Habie for making it.

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Aug 14, 2014

Recommended. Surreal, human, intelligent, current, vast.

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Aug 14, 2014

Exceptional movie giving an powerful artistic angle at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict....

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Aug 14, 2014

A film detailing the devastation of suppressed and oppressed creativity (and, therefore, life), Mars at Sunrise is a lyrical film that must be seen to appreciate just how daring it really is. Between painting, interpretive dance, and an evocative soundtrack, the film constructs a world of the subconscious between its two main characters. Part poem, part narrative, part documentary, Mars at Sunrise raises questions typically not considered in the Israel-Palestine conflict by focusing on two artists caught in the middle. Check it out!

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Jul 22, 2014

Beautifully told story. Accomplished acting and imaginative narrative. Sound and editing move the story forward in a poetic yet dynamic way.

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Jul 22, 2014

The fragmented narrative mirrors the way trauma impacts memory and interrupts linear thought. This is a beautiful and important film

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Jessica Habie

Director

Ali Suliman

Khaled

Guy Elhanan

Eyal

Haale Gafori

Azzadeh

Maisam Masri

Jibril

Tarik Kopty

Husni

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Synopsis

A Palestinian artist (Ali Suliman) tells a Jewish-American poet (Haale Gafori) how he was tortured by a failed Israeli artist (Guy Elhanan) who wanted to turn him into an informant.

Director: Jessica Habie
Producer: Baher Agbariya, Nirah Shirazipour
Screenwriter: Jessica Habie
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 25, 2016
Runtime: 1h 15m

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