Very disappointed :(

An action-packed slog

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

For some reason, European films only use subtitles when the characters are not speaking in English. As the actors usually have strong accents they are unintelligible when they do use English. I also had a feeling that even when the actors were speaking in Arabic, French or Hebrew we were not always getting subtitles. Captioning was greatly missed.The other big problem was the miscasting. Jules Sutrik does not look Palestinian, being too light skinned, and did not look at all like his biological brother Bilal. Likewise, Mehdi Dehbi was just a little too dark and more strongly resembled Bilal than either of his Jewish 'parents'. The film would have worked much better if the actors had alternated the roles, as it was I found the miscasting distracting to the point of being unbelievable, rather like a vanity piece where an actor shows off by playing against type or sex. The switched at birth plot is as old as Methuselah and a favorite of Shakespeare, Gilbert and Sullivan and many others. Although it was interesting, the storyline became very corny at times with the families coming together just a little too quickly.

This is a very interesting film that raises many questions about identity in general, not just in the context in Israel. What makes us who we are, our blood or our upbringing? And what happens if we're adopted, is there something, anything inherent in our being that makes us who we are despite the people around us? Purely as a piece of cinematography, it's a good film and well acted. As a social comment, or as a piece of art that raises relevant questions about human social identity, it's a lot more. And what happens in a situation where babies are mixed up, and raised outside the social context of their birth parents? How should both families proceed once they find out about the mix-up? Essentially, a mistake can brings people together. The outstanding problem, remains the society the families live in.

The French film, "Le fils de l'autre," was shown in the U.S. with the title "The Other Son" (2012). It was co-written and directed by Lorraine Levy. As the title suggests, the movie plot hinges around two young men, born at the same time in the same hospital, who were switched by mistake. To make the situation even worse, one set of parents is Palestinian, and one is Israeli.Once everyone comes to the realization that the mistake truly happened, the men are faced with the knowledge that their "parents" aren't their biological parents, their religion is not what it would be if the switch hadn't happened, and their position within the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been reversed.The only good news is that both sets of parents, and both of the young men, are people of good will. They all want to work out some sort of arrangement that will make this bizarre situation a little less painful.The knowledge about the switch is a life-altering event for all six people. How they survive--or don't survive--this event is what makes this such a fascinating film. This movie will work well on DVD. I suggest you seek it out and watch it. It will repay the effort

What can I say? I love love love this perfect movie! Superb direction (I want to see more of her movies!), beautifully written, excellent camera work, editing, sound, extraordinary use of varied music, locations, casting - the acting is the best ensemble acting I've seen a very very long time! Emmanuelle Devos (Orith Silberg) is the best known, and she is her usual superb self, Areen Omari is a revelation as the arab mother, Khalifa Natour and Pascal Elbe play the "politicized" fathers with an aching poignancy, Mahmud Shalaby plays what could be a caricatured "villain" as a complex young man capable of growth, and the two leads: Jules Sitruk (Joseph Silberg) and especially Mehdi Dehbi (Yacine Al-Bezaaz; I want to see him in more movies!) play such complex characters with warmth, intelligence, bravery, and brilliance.This movie gets an A+. It's the best movie I have seen in 2013 (it was released in 2011 in France; this is the first I have ever heard of it now in 2013).the "making of" featurette is fascinating. It made me appreciate the movie even more.I urge anyone and everyone to see this one of a kind extraordinary humane complex intelligent moving and exceptional motion picture!!!! (: