The Color of Olives

According to the press materials, this misguided and mind-numbing documentary is meant to be an emotional portrait of a Palestinian family living in the shadow of the West Bank wall. But while Mexican filmmaker Carolina Rivas keeps her camera trained on the melancholy members of the Amer family, all we learn about their plight is that even under great oppression, life can be intensely boring. Worse, whenever the Amers do make a moving statement about their people’s deplorable situation, it’s delivered via intertitles. Why deprive the Palestinians of their voice yet again? (Now playing; Two Boots Pioneer.) -- Raven Snook