Justin Chang

One of the major figures in No Other Land is Basel's father, Nasser, who has been arrested numerous times for protesting, an activist legacy that he has now passed on to his son. Basel feels ambivalent about inheriting that legacy and the exhaustion of having to spend your whole life fighting to protect your home.

The footage shot by Basel and his colleagues nonetheless shows just how important that fight is. We see Palestinian families frantically evacuating mere minutes before their homes are destroyed, then moving their possessions into nearby caves. We see farm animals wandering in confusion from their demolished coops and pens, and children playing amid the ruins, as children in war zones often do.

The footage shot by Basel and his colleagues nonetheless shows just how important that fight is. We see Palestinian families frantically evacuating mere minutes before their homes are destroyed, then moving their possessions into nearby caves. We see farm animals wandering in confusion from their demolished coops and pens, and children playing amid the ruins, as children in war zones often do.

The footage shot by Basel and his colleagues nonetheless shows just how important that fight is. We see Palestinian families frantically evacuating mere minutes before their homes are destroyed, then moving their possessions into nearby caves. We see farm animals wandering in confusion from their demolished coops and pens, and children playing amid the ruins, as children in war zones often do.

Sometimes Basel is in front of the camera, marching in a protest or at one point screaming as he's dragged on the ground by IDF soldiers. Often he's behind the camera. He keeps filming even amid the chaos, including one gut-wrenching moment when a Palestinian man is shot at point-blank range by an Israeli settler. At one point, Basel says, this is a story about power.

Sometimes Basel is in front of the camera, marching in a protest or at one point screaming as he's dragged on the ground by IDF soldiers. Often he's behind the camera. He keeps filming even amid the chaos, including one gut-wrenching moment when a Palestinian man is shot at point-blank range by an Israeli settler. At one point, Basel says, this is a story about power.

Sometimes Basel is in front of the camera, marching in a protest or at one point screaming as he's dragged on the ground by IDF soldiers. Often he's behind the camera. He keeps filming even amid the chaos, including one gut-wrenching moment when a Palestinian man is shot at point-blank range by an Israeli settler. At one point, Basel says, this is a story about power.

and we see how that power plays out in different ways. The filmmakers include footage from years earlier, when then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the region. He spent just seven minutes touring Masafaryata, but that was enough to get Israel to call off demolitions in the area. There's also a power differential, of course, between Basel and Yuval.

and we see how that power plays out in different ways. The filmmakers include footage from years earlier, when then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the region. He spent just seven minutes touring Masafaryata, but that was enough to get Israel to call off demolitions in the area. There's also a power differential, of course, between Basel and Yuval.

and we see how that power plays out in different ways. The filmmakers include footage from years earlier, when then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the region. He spent just seven minutes touring Masafaryata, but that was enough to get Israel to call off demolitions in the area. There's also a power differential, of course, between Basel and Yuval.

When No Other Land won two awards last February at the Berlin International Film Festival, the filmmakers took the stage together, and Yuval said in his acceptance speech, in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal. And he added that this inequality has to end.

When No Other Land won two awards last February at the Berlin International Film Festival, the filmmakers took the stage together, and Yuval said in his acceptance speech, in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal. And he added that this inequality has to end.

When No Other Land won two awards last February at the Berlin International Film Festival, the filmmakers took the stage together, and Yuval said in his acceptance speech, in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal. And he added that this inequality has to end.

How it could end is not a question that No Other Land can answer, but as an example of Palestinian-Israeli collaboration in action, Basel and Yuval and the vital movie they've made give us reason to hope.

How it could end is not a question that No Other Land can answer, but as an example of Palestinian-Israeli collaboration in action, Basel and Yuval and the vital movie they've made give us reason to hope.

How it could end is not a question that No Other Land can answer, but as an example of Palestinian-Israeli collaboration in action, Basel and Yuval and the vital movie they've made give us reason to hope.

The Haunted House thriller Presence has a formal conceit so clever, I'm surprised it hasn't ever been done or attempted before. Maybe another movie has done it that I'm not aware of. This is a ghost story told entirely from the ghost's point of view. We see what the ghost sees. The ghost cannot leave the house, and so the movie never leaves the house either.

The Haunted House thriller Presence has a formal conceit so clever, I'm surprised it hasn't ever been done or attempted before. Maybe another movie has done it that I'm not aware of. This is a ghost story told entirely from the ghost's point of view. We see what the ghost sees. The ghost cannot leave the house, and so the movie never leaves the house either.

The Haunted House thriller Presence has a formal conceit so clever, I'm surprised it hasn't ever been done or attempted before. Maybe another movie has done it that I'm not aware of. This is a ghost story told entirely from the ghost's point of view. We see what the ghost sees. The ghost cannot leave the house, and so the movie never leaves the house either.

You could say that the ghost is played by the director, Steven Soderbergh, who serves as his own cinematographer, as usual. working under the pseudonym of Peter Andrews. That's Soderbergh holding the camera as it glides up and down the stairs, following the characters from room to room, and hovering over them as they try to figure out what's going on.