Strangers No More (2010) Reviews

• A clarification

  maceoin2011-02-28

  I'm glad PlanktonRules enjoyed this charming documentary. But I was puzzled by his/her comment that 'despite being in Israel, the school is open to all religions, ethnicities and nations.' What sort of country does he/she think Israel is? Israelis come from almost every corner of the earth, from all over Europe and America, from Africa, from almost every Muslim country, from Russia. It's actually the most ethnically and religiously diverse country in the Middle East and beyond. It's important to stress this because the school emerges precisely out of this welcoming attitude and this ability to create a unifying culture out of so many. The little boy who could not speak Hebrew is far from the first. It was because so many Jews spoke so many languages that it was decided to revive Hebrew as a spoken language, and the Israeli achievement in doing so is inspiring.

• Inspirational portrait of a Tel Aviv school

  lor_2011-01-24

  It isn't often I get hopeful about the future, especially education and possibilities for underprivileged kids, but STRANGERS NO MORE is truly inspirational. I hope this well-made documentary gets consideration in the upcoming Oscar race. We are presented with a school year at Bialik-Rogozin School in Tel Aviv, focusing on the progress of half a dozen students, and showing in the process the caring, "go the extra mile" attitudes of the faculty and staff. Principal student covered is Johannes, an Eritrean refugee by way of Sudan. At age 12 he's had zero schooling and is painfully shy, let alone unable to communicate in either Hebrew or English at the school. We see his transformation, learning Hebrew, getting fitted with eyeglasses (a true necessity) and eventually serving as an interpreter in the Tigrit language to a newly admitted student later in the year. It's amazing and impressive progress. His dad is also featured, a mild-mannered guy who just wants to make a living and support his family. When he meets with the principal Karen Tal to help him through the red tape to secure a work visa, he comments in halting English that he's come here (from Eritrea/Ethiopia and later a Sudan refugee camp) to escape finally from war and violence, and Tal kindly reminds him, hey - Israel is right in the middle of it! Political issues such as the ongoing/never-ending Israeli/Palestine struggle are not alluded to specifically in the film, since that is not what it's about. As the title suggests, it is about making a true melting pot (I live in New York City, the symbolic world melting pot of sorts) where foreigners can be integrated into a true community and given new chances for self-realization. For K-12 education, clearly this school is a role model. Other key players, with winning stories, include Mohammed from Darfur, and the lovely Esther (with a movie star smile) from South Africa, both of whom qualify for the "Most Likely to Succeed" caption under their photos in a high school yearbook. Far more than the expected B'nai B'rith campaign film, STRANGERS carries a universal message.

• The humane, sensitive Israel

  TaliaCarner2011-03-01

  It is hard to imagine the challenge facing a school that serves over 800 children from forty-eight countries, children who've known wars and strife, who saw their parents killed in front of their eyes, or children who had walked the desert, or who come to school hungry and whose parents live under the radar screen of the authorities as foreign workers fearful of being caught and deported. Yet Bialik-Rogozin school in Tel-Aviv, Israel not only educates them, but gives them love, compassion, and hope. In the open and accepting environment created by an outstanding principal Karen Tal and a team of exceptional teachers, students support one another, play together and chat in the new common language, Hebrew. Racial and color divides drop completely in a place where each child is "different" yet none is made to feel anything less than unique. Each child learns to put his or her hauntingly traumatic past behind, adjust to the present, and look to the future. Unlike other public schools in the city that close at 1 or 2 PM, Bialik-Rogozin is open late, until these children's parents are back from work. Furthermore, as in the case of Johannes, a war refugee who speaks only Tigrit, freedom acquires a new meaning when the boy is taken to the doctor where he is fitted with glasses, and his teacher gives him bicycles so he can ride around the neighborhood and connect with his new world. At a home visit, when the teacher learns of the father's visa problems, the school takes on the task of navigating the bureaucratic maze for the family. It is heart-warming to see that merely a few months after Johannes's arrival, he is an eager and engaged student who now translates and helps a new Tigrit-speaking child find his way around the school. And Esther, whose mother was killed in South Africa (yet who still believes that she will return,) is surprised when her new white-skinned friends admire her tightly braided hair, hug her, and seek her friendship. Soon, the articulate girl, now clothed and fed by the school, is helped to accept the finality of her mother's death, flourishes and becomes a leader. Nothing testifies to the success of the school as when the charming and determined Mohammed, who arrived from Darfur at age sixteen, not only catches up on a lifetime of lack of schooling, but upon graduation plans to return to his village and open a school there. The film avoids the underlining political questions about a vulnerable country opening its borders to refugees or a public school that supports illegal immigrants by integrating their children into the new culture. Instead, the film teaches the most humane lesson as it demonstrates how far compassion, goodwill, and enormous patience can help change the life of children from utter despair to a world of possibilities offered by a sense of self, security and education. It is easy to draw from the cliché of superlatives when describing an environment in which ethnic definitions and cultural differences—that all too often breed hatred—simply melt and fall away. Even the word "tolerance" is too trivial for the place that Lin Arison, the philanthropist who financed the documentary, calls "a miracle." The tight throat and tear-filled eyes of the audience provide a better sense of the emotional power of the film. And if "Strangers No More" fails to show Israel's detractors her true face, then they ought to turn their critical eyes toward themselves. # # # Author Talia Carner's next novel, JERUSALEM MAIDEN, will be published by HarperCollins June 2011. Please check www.TaliaCarner.com

• "We're all water" - John Lennon

  lee_eisenberg2016-01-11

  I interpreted this look at a multi-ethnic school in Tel Aviv to mean that deep down, we're all the same. Race is a social construct; in reality we're all human. "Strangers No More" won the 2010 Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject. I've never heard of Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon, but I'd like to see more of their work now. Seeing a documentary about a school whose students come from 48 different countries will do that to you. However, there was something missing. Someone should have addressed the conflict with Palestine. It's good that Israel has a school that caters to people from all over the world, but what do these students think of the whole Israel-Palestine thing? If they're moving to Israel, they must have an opinion about it. Otherwise it's a good documentary.

• By far the most enjoyable and uplifting of the 2011 nominees.

  MartinHafer2011-02-27

  Today is the day the Oscars are announced and it's also one of the days that the Documentary Short nominees are being shown in theaters across the country. This is the first year such a show was shown and I must say that all the nominees were exceptional...though generally rather depressing as well. I didn't mind that, as the films were intended to point out societal problems--and that is not what I'd consider 'fun'. Of the five films nominated, "Strangers No More" is the most enjoyable and uplifting. It's also the least controversial and film most likely to be enjoyed by the public. In some ways making such a film was easy--the logistics of making it were pretty easy and the message is easy to make and will be widely accepted. Other than total idiots and vile people, everyone would like the idea of a school that is accepting and cares so much for kids who have experienced so much pain. The school in question is located in Tel Aviv. Yet, despite being in Israel, the school is open to all religions, ethnicities and nations. It caters mostly to the immigrant populations--people who often have come to the country to get away from repression and murder. Many of the kids have had their families persecuted or even murdered--and your heart really goes out to them. Seeing the love and acceptance the staff at the school gave the kids was very uplifting and inspirational. Of the many kids in this k-12 school, three kids were chosen to explore in depth during one particular school year. Why they were chosen never was explained, though I assume it was mostly because these kids in particular had prior lives that were just dreadful. One was from Ethiopia (specifically Eritrea) and, luckily, had this family intact--though he was brand-new to the school and none of his family spoke Hebrew. He was truly like a little lost lamb. Another was a teenager from Darfur (Sudan) who had witnessed the murder of his father and grandmother and who lost track of the rest of his family. To make things worse, apart from being an orphan, he never had any schooling and the plan was to try to concentrate 12 years of schooling into only 3! The final was a girl from South Africa who lived with her father--her mother having been murdered due to gang violence. All three of the kids are adorable--easy to care for and easy to shed tears for as well. Fortunately, it all ends very well for these kids--and this makes it unique among the documentaries. Unlike the bleak outlook in the other films, this is uplifting and speaks for, perhaps, a better future. Lets pray that this message continues to spread and other such wonderful programs could begin as well. Uplifting, well made and thoroughly enjoyable. UPDATE: The Oscar winner was "Strangers No More". I wouldn't have picked it since it was a rather tame and non-controversial film but it was uplifting and nice.