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Three Promises

Play trailer Poster for Three Promises Released May 10, 2024 1h 1m Documentary History Play Trailer Watchlist
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Three Promises is the story of a mother and her camera, of a son and his suppressed memories, and of an entire country. At the start of the 2000s, while the Israeli army is retaliating against the second intifada in the West Bank, Suha films her daily family life, punctuated by frequent trips underground and overwhelmed by the anguish of her two young children. At every moment of intense danger, she promises God that she will leave if they survive. In 2017, her son, the director of this film, discovers this archive and reconnects with this suppressed past, wondering with his mother what drove her to record a daily life of suffering, a stolen childhood, and why she delayed fleeing, paralyzed by the hope for change and burdened by the impossible choice between physical safety and emotional upheaval. While on the surface there emerges the heartrending portrait of everyday life in times of war, it is the staggering beauty of a mother's love that is revealed between the lines. Blending the voice of the present with impressive family footage, Yousef Srouji completes the story begun by Suha, thus averting the act of forgetting, both personal and collective.

Critics Reviews

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Robert Daniels RogerEbert.com Yousef Srouji’s “Three Promises” is a harrowing labor of recollection. Mar 10, 2024 Full Review Joshua Polanski Boston Hassle [Yousef Srouji] mostly lets the footage self-exorcise its demons. Oct 18, 2024 Full Review Wael Khairy The Cinephile Fix “Three Promises” is not simply a highly recommended viewing, it’s an urgent one; especially when it’s not just the mortality of thousands of children that is on line, but the morality of humanity as a whole. Oct 6, 2024 Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru Intimate, heartbreaking and timely. May 7, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews
Three Promises

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Movie Info

Synopsis Three Promises is the story of a mother and her camera, of a son and his suppressed memories, and of an entire country. At the start of the 2000s, while the Israeli army is retaliating against the second intifada in the West Bank, Suha films her daily family life, punctuated by frequent trips underground and overwhelmed by the anguish of her two young children. At every moment of intense danger, she promises God that she will leave if they survive. In 2017, her son, the director of this film, discovers this archive and reconnects with this suppressed past, wondering with his mother what drove her to record a daily life of suffering, a stolen childhood, and why she delayed fleeing, paralyzed by the hope for change and burdened by the impossible choice between physical safety and emotional upheaval. While on the surface there emerges the heartrending portrait of everyday life in times of war, it is the staggering beauty of a mother's love that is revealed between the lines. Blending the voice of the present with impressive family footage, Yousef Srouji completes the story begun by Suha, thus averting the act of forgetting, both personal and collective.
Director
Yousef Srouji
Producer
Marielle Olentine
Screenwriter
Mahdokht Mahmoudabadi, Yousef Srouji
Production Co
Suha Documentary
Genre
Documentary, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 10, 2024, Limited
Runtime
1h 1m