Torn Apart

Gentle-hearted and intermittently effective, TORN APART is an Israeli-Arab version of "Romeo and Juliet" that could be called "West Bank Story." Although prettily photographed in pastels and for the most part savvily cast, the film is one of those well-intentioned, narrative-heavy movies that show little evidence of cinematic intelligence, concentrating all of its energy on presenting a romantic drama with lots of medium shots and cutaways to sunsets. As the film begins, an Israeli soldier, Ben Arnon (Adrian Pasdar), retrieves a letter from a rocky childhood hiding place. He examines the letter, leading to a flashback detailing his boyhood friendship with an Arab g...