Precious Life – Haim Yekarim (2010)

Directed by: Shlomi Eldar | 90 minutes | documentary

Every year many documentaries from all over the world prove that reality is often stranger than fiction. The subjects that present themselves would no longer be credible in a fiction film, as in the Israeli documentary ‘Precious Life’ (‘Haim Yekarim’). A dying child, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a torn Palestinian mother, an anonymous Jewish lender, the violent Gaza in 2009, blood transfusions across border posts: the film has it all, and more. An unwanted consequence of documentaries that tell such incredible stories is that they can sometimes overwhelm the viewer. Fortunately, director Eldar manages to find the right balance with his film, so that the entire film fascinates, moves and haunts your mind for a long time to come.

The documentary opens with a brief reconstruction of Eldar’s career, not to boast or draw attention, but rather to give a nuanced picture of his background and make it clear that he has come a long way. Eldar’s integrity, like most documentary makers, is an important aspect of the film, especially because he has come into the position that as a filmmaker he himself has had an influence on the course of the story and becomes quite emotionally involved. This split is an interesting point of discussion. Some filmmakers advocate the distance they take, while other directors intervene where possible to help a main character. Be that as it may, Eldar’s call on the news has made him inextricably linked to his subject—a position that forces him to proceed with caution.

After his appeal made the news, an anonymous Jewish Israeli donated more than $50,000 to pay for the needed bone marrow transplant. Eldar follows the process of finding a suitable bone marrow donor – resulting in unlikely scenes of an uncle taking blood samples from Mother Raida’s nieces and nephews in Gaza and crossing the border in a taxi with a refrigerated bag full of blood samples; or the niece who has never left Gaza and is stunned to walk around on ‘plants’ – she has never seen grass. Eldar also follows the surgery and eventual recovery of baby Mohammed. Early in the film, a bad thought comes to mind: is it worth all the hassle if the child who is rescued faces a life in miserable Gaza and may even cross a border post at the age of 18 with a bomb belt – or sooner? hit by Israeli weapons? Through the course of the film, the sensitive and funny doctor Somech and the hopeful events, these cynical ideas slowly fade away. But then, in an unguarded moment, during a religious-political discussion between Eldar and mother Raida, Raida suddenly comes up with a similar thought. She claims that her son can count on her support and devotion should he ever die as a shahid (martyr) in his later life. Eldar can’t believe his ears. “Life is worth nothing to us,” says the mother, who has spent months in the hospital trying to save her son’s. The discussion takes on incredible proportions, Eldar is annoyed by her rigid attitude and Raida by his incomprehension. Angry and disappointed, Eldar even considers stopping the film, but decides to confront Raida and her sympathetic husband on camera with the harsh words. Later, through the camera, we understand her motives, arising from the painful splits she has found herself in throughout the affair. At home, not everyone seems happy with her stay in Israel and she even receives threatening emails from Gaza. Ultimately, both Raida and Eldar conclude that every life is worth saving. The point at which that is forgotten is precisely the point where Israeli soldiers pour poison gas over Gaza and young Palestinians with bomb belts start walking through the Tel Aviv market.

The main characters carry the film in all their honesty, compassion and humanity. Every now and then, filmmaker Eldar goes over the edge by showing Raida in close-up when tears run down her cheeks, and he could have left out the overly dramatic music too. But that is quickly forgotten.