This is a well meaning political thriller about both peaceful and radical PLO fighters dealing with the fight against the Jews to reclaim their land with the aide of American ambassador Robert Mitchum, a quiet and wise man desperately trying to bring these two factions together to start talks. But powers behind the scene definitely don't want that, extremists who will use whatever means to keep the war going. Why you ask? No real reason other than the desire for control through whatever means necessary.
Then there's Mitchum's beautiful wife, Ellen Burstyn, having an affair with Fabio Testi, a handsome and romantic shopkeeper who is a high level official in the PLO. Burstyn has no idea of that, and when a film revealing their affair is shown to Mitchum, he must come to terms with his neglect and ultimately confront Testi whom he needs to speak to the students on both sides to open the door to peace. "Maybe the next generation will make it better", Testi says, a noble gesture of shaking hands with the enemy that unfortunately goes unheeded by terrorists for whom peace is a dirty word.
Costarring in this film (his last) is the still handsome Rock Hudson, then in the last stages of his life due to HIV, still fighting just like his character seems to be doing here as Mitchum's assistant. But there's a mysterious element about him that really is undetermined, and you really never know what side he is on. The ending gives a sign of hope, touching in the fact that it proves Testi's words to be true.
Donald Pleasance and Heli Goldenberg (as a rather ambitious reporter who must reach into her ethics) provide solid support. Not a great film but a well intended one, nicely directed by J. Lee Thompson and beautifully photographed. A very amusing scene with Burstyn has her entering Testi's store and interfering with a sale in a way that really gives a good intro to her character and provides an ironic laugh. It would be interesting to see if the young students of the different cultures were real students and not actors which would add a sense of authenticity to this.
Then there's Mitchum's beautiful wife, Ellen Burstyn, having an affair with Fabio Testi, a handsome and romantic shopkeeper who is a high level official in the PLO. Burstyn has no idea of that, and when a film revealing their affair is shown to Mitchum, he must come to terms with his neglect and ultimately confront Testi whom he needs to speak to the students on both sides to open the door to peace. "Maybe the next generation will make it better", Testi says, a noble gesture of shaking hands with the enemy that unfortunately goes unheeded by terrorists for whom peace is a dirty word.
Costarring in this film (his last) is the still handsome Rock Hudson, then in the last stages of his life due to HIV, still fighting just like his character seems to be doing here as Mitchum's assistant. But there's a mysterious element about him that really is undetermined, and you really never know what side he is on. The ending gives a sign of hope, touching in the fact that it proves Testi's words to be true.
Donald Pleasance and Heli Goldenberg (as a rather ambitious reporter who must reach into her ethics) provide solid support. Not a great film but a well intended one, nicely directed by J. Lee Thompson and beautifully photographed. A very amusing scene with Burstyn has her entering Testi's store and interfering with a sale in a way that really gives a good intro to her character and provides an ironic laugh. It would be interesting to see if the young students of the different cultures were real students and not actors which would add a sense of authenticity to this.