Movie Review - Jerusalem

Jerusalem *** (NR) This IMAX documentary is the latest feature to appear at the Saint Louis Science Center. The production took five years, 14 trips to Israel, and innumerable rounds of negotiations with leaders of all the religious and ethnic factions whose history and beliefs are largely centered in less than a single square mile of walled buildings known as the Old City. With admirable neutrality and respect for all interests, writer/director Daniel Ferguson delivers a fascinating apolitical travelog. Most of the film’s thorough historical context comes from Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice-over.

IMAX technology engulfs viewers with the ancient structures, crowded streets and multiple elevations from five centuries of 40 conquests and multiple rebuildings atop the previous generation of dwellings, making this tiny spot such a beacon for hordes of archaeologists and historians, as well as members of religions who consider it sacred. Ferguson presents us with three local narrators who describe the setting from their perspectives. All are young women - Christian, Jewish and Muslim - whose lives are almost completely unknown to each other. Each belongs to a faction with its own rigidly-delineated sector, co- existing in that small, crowded space with very little interaction or understanding about the others.

As the film alternates among the cultures and practices of each, outsiders might see more similarities among them than the locals would expect. The film is emotionally and intellectually informative, providing plenty of grist for meaningful interfaith discussions. What anyone does with the insights to be derived may take generations to discover. (10/4/13)