(Arts & Entertainment Heartwarming musical' Book by Allan Knee, Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott SEPT 4 - 27 2009 Individual Tickets $16 & $18 Thursday Nights... 4 tickets for $50! Collec-ed Stories The Cemetery Club Charlotte's Web The Full Monty October 2009 November roc Deeember 00 The Complete Works of Wm Shakespeare [abridged] February 2010 Season & Individual Tickets at 248-541-6430 Visa & MasterCard accepted 415 S. Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak, MI 48067 www.stagec rafters .org A Streetcar Named Desire A Delicate Balance The Producers Mar Apr 2010 May - June 2010 15280 SUSHI S r Japanese Restaurant Ph: 248-737-4408 Fax: 248-737-5032 • Catering and Carry-out Available • Gift Certificates Available 4157 Orchard Lake Road, Orchard Lake, MI 48323 10% OFF Total Bill Pc ,,ac (with ad only) 8/20/09 through 9/2/09 Business Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30am - 10:00pm Sunday 4:30 - 9:00pm Lone Pine ( 1 7 $2.00 OFF RIBS OR BBQ CHICKEN FOR TWO All dinners include salad or coleslaw, potatoes and garlic bread. Exp. 8/31/0) g?-74, Brass Pointe a. '°°( ( >-.2t:lq.6. 24234 Orchard Lake Rd., N.E. corner of 10 Mile • 476-1377 Open 7 Days a week for lunch & dinner 48 August 20 e 2.009 Walled Off Jerusalem rooms without a view. Michael Fox Special to the Jewish News 0 tics of navigating checkpoints, inevita- bly results in a decrease in visits. It is hardly a policy or goal of the Israeli government to make life tough- er for the residents of Notre Dame des Douleurs or their families, of course. From the filmmaker's point of view, this adverse consequence of the wall's existence is another ignominy Palestinians endure under occupation. A couple of the residents are vocif- erous in their anger and frustration. "The situation is at a dead end," one laments. "I can't breathe:' To American Jews, This Way Up will play as a not so thinly veiled con- demnation of Israel. One must admit, however, that the elderly folks shown are the most benign, non-threatening critics of Israel one could imagine. n the P.O. V. Web site, French filmmaker Georgi Lazarevski describes This Way Up as "a more intimate, almost nonpolitical film on the Arab/Israeli conflict?' It's certainly true that his elliptical, strikingly photographed 2007 por- trayal of the Palestinian residents of the east Jerusalem retirement home Notre Dame des Douleurs (Our Lady of Sorrows) is observational in nature, rather than didactic or educational. There's no narrator, no talking heads, and the participants aren't even iden- tified by name (except when they're addressed by someone else in the film). But "almost nonpolitical:' in the con- text of the Middle East, is the equivalent of "a little bit pregnant." There's no such thing, and to suggest oth- erwise is a tad disin- genuous. If one were to show Israel's "point of view" in building its defense barrier (which takes the form of a wall in some urban areas), it would be noted that the terriorist attacks The separation wall near the Home of Our Lady of resulting in scores of Jewish deaths and Sorrows maimings have all but ceased since the barrier was built. Lazarevski, who is also an accom- This Way Up, which clocks in at an plished still photographer, integrates unhurried hour, premieres 10 p.m. numerous static shots of the security Tuesday, Aug. 25, on PBS stations barrier that range from beautiful to nationwide, but won't be broadcast ironic to sobering. His editorial com- until 1 a.m. Aug. 26 on Detroit Public ment is pretty unambiguous, but the Television's Digital Channel 56.2. most memorable images are the art The filmmaker's initial and fun- shots — a stunning study of the wall damentally political decision \vas to ribboning across the landscape like a choose an institution situated right Christo installation, or the shadow cast next to the massive concrete security by the cross atop Notre Dame. barrier. For most of the elderly resi- This I,Vay Up, like every documen- dents, the wall doesn't intrude on their tary that comes out of Israel, the West circumscribed daily routine. Bank or Gaza, is a Rorschach test that But there are seniors whose adult tends to reveal more about the viewer children come to see them on a semi- than the subject. Viewed as another regular basis, and to them the wall facet in the ever-expanding mosaic of represents a palpable disruption. The Israeli-Palestinian portraits, however, authorization required to cross, com- the film offers a plethora of unexpect- bined with the time, energy and logis- ed insights. _____ — This Way Up airs 1 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, on Detroit Public Television's digital channel 56.2. For more information, go to www.pbs.org/pov.