The Little Traitor (2007)
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 14
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 9
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 1,590
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
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Cast
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Alfred Molina
Sergeant Dunlop -
Ido Port
Proffy Liebowitz -
Theodore Bikel
Security Officer -
Rami Heuberger
Proffy's Father -
Gilya Stern
Miriam -
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All Critics (23) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (14)
A minor drama about major events.
Top CriticDoesn't attempt much, doesn't accomplish much, doesn't offer much and doesn't leave you with anything memorable to take home with you.
The Little Traitor bounces between coming-of-age high jinks and clunky geopolitical lessons.
The dialogue and Roth's storytelling manner are heavy handed...
An interesting look at the transitory nature of enemies and the way history shifts alliances.
All in all, a resonant theme, poorly played.
It's easy to see how parents and teachers of school-aged kids could find "The Little Traitor" useful to begin an introductory conversation about tolerance and friendship. But the film's childish tone does little to enlighten the rest of us.
Treacly love-thy-enemy yarn in a historically remarkable place and time
The film slams to a halt every time Port opens his mouth and widens his gee-willikers peepers; since he's the titular traitor and is in virtually every scene, Roth's film never has much of a chance.
Poignant, child's view of the summer of 1947, just before the sun set on the Brit Empire in Jerusalem and everything changed, but does't catch the ruefulness of Oz's novel.
Shooting on locations in Jerusalem, the film feels real and authentic with Roth getting the most out of the local atmosphere but itâ(TM)s her fine screenplay and keen eye for casting that makes The Little Traitor stand out from the pack.
Audience Reviews for The Little Traitor
Super Reviewer
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, The Little Traitor 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.
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Proffy Liebowitz: They hate me because of Sgt. Dunlop. But my enemy was more of a friend to me than my friends.
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- Proffy Liebowitz: Why does everyone hate us Jews so much?
- Miriam: Because we know a lot.
- Proffy Liebowitz: Then maybe we shouldn't know so much.
- Proffy's Father: The reason for the hatred my change, but the hatred goes on forever.
- Proffy Liebowitz: What should we do?
- Miriam: We should be different. We should not hate.
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- Proffy Liebowitz: Sargent Dunlop! SARGENT DUNLOP!
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- Proffy Liebowitz: F.O.D! Freedom or death!
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Foreign Titles
- The Little Traitor (Ha'boged Hakatan) (DE)
- The Little Traitor (Ha'boged Hakatan) (UK)
