The Little Traitor

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

41%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 22

70%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,597
User image

Watch it now

The Little Traitor Photos

View All Photos (24)

Movie Info

British Palestine, 1947: In just a few short months, Israel will achieve independent statehood. Proffy Liebowitz is a 12-year-old militant who wants nothing more than to see the imperialist forces pack their bags and head for the hills, but when Proffy breaks curfew one night he has an experience that will forever change his outlook on life. Busted while roaming the streets by an amiable British soldier, Proffy is taken aback to find himself entering into a friendly conversation with a man he would have once sworn off as his mortal enemy.

Cast

Alfred Molina
as Sergeant Dunlop
Ido Port
as Proffy Liebowitz
Theodore Bikel
as Security Officer
Gilya Stern
as Miriam
Jake Barker
as Chaim Zosoma
Levana Finkelstein
as Grandmother Tykocinski
Rami Heuberger
as Proffy's Father
View All

News & Interviews for The Little Traitor

Critics Consensus: Where the Wild Things Are Is A Wild Rumpus
View All

Critic Reviews for The Little Traitor

All Critics (22) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (13)

View All Critic Reviews (22)

Audience Reviews for The Little Traitor

  • Nov 17, 2012
    Heartwarming. Charming...an excellent, well written movie. The actors were chosen very well for their parts, and they did a really great job. Nice little history lesson in this, too. An ending that made me teary eyed. What more can you ask for?...
    Cynthia S Super Reviewer
  • Jul 19, 2012
    A Palestinian Jew "betrays" his community by forming a friendship with British officer in 1947. The friendship between Sergeant Dunlop and Proffy, played by Alfred Molina and Ido Port respectively, is charming and endearing, and Molina plays the genial father perfectly. As a whole, though, the film has several flaws. Like many Western films about Israel and Palestine, <i>The Little Traitor</i> elides Palestinian Arabs and Muslims from the conversation, condemning them to roles like good-natured merchants with a minute of screen time and a lip-service mention in the film's final moments. It's revisionist history in its worst form, and to suggest that Jews were the only victims of British occupation is myopic and irresponsible. Despite these political concerns, I think director Lynn Roth is less concerned with Zionist politics, which are certainly depicted, and most concerned with a human coming-of-age tale. Even in this, the film fails because of Ido Port's stoic, bland performance. Molina carries their scenes together, but the child actor's reaction shots might as well be an impromptu photograph of Port watching grass grow. Overall, even with Port's poor performance, I found myself thinking that the film - even with its historical amnesia - has its heart in the right place, believing that the way to dispel colonization's violence is through personal friendships rather than political violence; if only Roth had applied the same view to present-day issues in which Proffy and Dunlop's roles are reversed.
    Jim H Super Reviewer
  • Dec 08, 2011
    Fantastic job by the young <a href="http://www.flixster.com/celebrity/ido-port/">Ido Port</a>.
    Ed K Super Reviewer
  • Mar 08, 2010
    a little charmer of a coming-of-age piece about a jewish boy in british occupied palestine (soon to be israel ...soon to be israel / palestine ... soon to be ... oh hell, you already know!) before the 1948 liberation. great if your want to see jerusalem and indulge in a little cultural splurge.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

The Little Traitor Quotes

View All Quotes

News & Features