All language subtitles for Koudelka.Shooting.Holy.Land_en

So, suddenly I discovered the Wall.

And I grew up behind the Wall.

All my life till I left
Czechoslovakia at thirty-two,

I wanted to go on
the other side of the Wall,

for me it was the prison;
I was in the cage.

So, of course
I didn't like the Wall,

but in the same time it is
pretty spectacular, this Wall.

What a shit.

How people can do something
like that to beautiful landscape?

These, on the both sides,
they can defend,

or try to defend themselves,
they don't have much chances either,

but the landscape
can't defend themselves.

And they're destroying the most holy
landscape for civilization forever.

Nobody can put it back how it was
before. Nobody can put it back.

—Hello. —Hello.
-How are you?

—Good morning. How are you?
-Good morning.

—Do you live here?
-Yeah.

Three people and in one day they
can build a hundred meters probably.

I guess they are Palestinians.

There is not even army here.

But it's incredible, no?
In these three days just...

What do you have there?

Hello my friend, I know you well,
I met you many times here.

Always standing here on this spot.
Good boy, yes.

—Italian?
-And this guy too, look at this guy.

—OK, goodbye boys.
-Italian? -Yes, of course.

Be well.

Photographer,
move away from the fence.

Photographer,
move away from the fence!

Go back, photographer.
Move back!

Josef, he is talking to you.

—It was quite good now there.
-Yeah?

—Yeah. Because...
-But did you get it?

Yeah, I mean
you have this cage empty.

This I should have done better.

—They took it away.
-They are not anymore there.

Because these elements it was nice,
then I try to crop it like that.

This is, this is...

—It was this...
-Amazing how it changes.

Still it's good.

For the blocks I think
it is actually one of the best.

—I think they are blocking it now.
-Yeah.

This is probably the best
from this situation.

—Then I have one more.
-Let me see.

But here, this is not strong.
This is nice, but this is...

This is really good.

You know, but this is the thing,
just, you come back...

and it gives you...
it gives you more sure,

you are more sure
if something is alright,

because you can't do it better,

or because it doesn't exist
or something like that.

Look! This is also inside.

He's not passing.
I already explained to him.

I'm the commander here,
you are not passing. Today, closed.

I don't understand.
Bullshit...

Photographer, you can't stand
within a radius of 150 meters.

I don't speak Hebrew,
I can't understand you.

Russian?
-No.

English, French, Italian, Spanish?

Here is good.

He asked me if I speak Russian.

—Maybe Josef, put the camera
for a minute... -Yeah, down.

—Just as we go in.
-OK.

Have you got your passport on you?

Yeah.

Hello, how's it going?

Roger, they're coming
to fix the cameras.

Check them well
and approve entrance.

They didn't show me a press card
of the Israeli Press Office.

—OK, I understand.
-Wait, explain me what the problem is.

Do you have a press card?

A permit. Any shooting in this
area here requires a permit.

This is more or less the twentieth
time we are here and photographing.

—And we never had a problem.
-Doesn't mean that you don't need...

He is one of the most renowned
photographers worldwide.

—He is photographing many sites.
-He?

—And what is the purpose of it?
-Eventually it might be a book,

but he is a photographer of
an agency called Magnum.

Magnum? Ah, I know it.
Magnum photographer?

—It is based in France and New York.
-Yes, I know it, Magnum.

And he is photographing
around the country...

Look, in principle the problem...

The problem with
taking photos is the people.

There are many people who
don't want to be photographed.

—That's why you need a permit.
-He doesn't photograph any people.

Fine.

—He photographs only landscapes...
-I understand.

—And I am filming him all the time.
-I understand, fine.

—Do you have a press card?
-I don't have a press card.

I am a recent photography graduate
and I am acting as his assistant.

What do you want
to photograph here?

He is simply photographing
this area over here.

Fine, as long as it doesn't concern
the southern area, then no problem.

OK, no problem;
there is no problem for me too.

—Thank you very much indeed.
-Please, welcome.

—So you are part of Magnum agency?
-Yeah. -Ah, that's nice.

OK, so pleased to meet you,
my name is Josef.

—Josef, what? —Koudelka.
-Koudelka?-I'm Czech photographer.

—Yoav. Nice to meet you.
-Pleased to meet you. So, thank you.

—What do you see here?
-Lots of walls.

Lots of walls, number one.
What else?

A fence above the walls.
What else?

—Lights and cameras.
-Lights and cameras.

So, this is where Jews came
to pray for thousands of years.

Comes the violence of the last
ten years, since 2000.

And Rachel's Tomb is
in the middle of Bethlehem.

People cannot get here anymore.
And people still want to pray.

So when things start to develop of how
are we going to change the system,

how do we live with Palestinians

and the violence that
is happening from their side

and Israelis and the violence
that is being thrown upon them?

How do we work that?
Part of the security fence is set up.

And in certain places it's a fence
and in certain places it's a wall.

And here at Kever Rachel
it's not just a wall,

notice the sleeve that we drove
through, it's a wall on either side,

only to protect those of us
who are coming to Rachel's Tomb.

And if you look at the picture, that is
what Rachel's Tomb used to look like.

A little romantic 'cause there
were other buildings around it.

But bottom—line, until 7, 8 years ago
that is what you saw as you came here.

Today, if you look behind you, you
can see it is a bullet-proof building

'cause people were attacked
when they came to pray here.

And so when you go inside the building,
you will see that dome and building

built inside this building
that was now built around it,

so, a few things...

—Each way you look it's a different
landscape. -Yeah, absolutely.

—This is more like a village...
-This is more... -I see.

Yeah, so maybe tell me something.
So, these are different parts...

—These are different parts
in any Arabic city. -I see.

In the south, in the north, wherever.
That's the idea of this facility.

It can simulate not only
Gaza or Lebanon or whatever,

it can simulate each part
of all cities

and it's all built out of models
of real cities.

—Oh really?
-Yeah.

This I didn't know the last time,
because I thought they just built it...

No, no, no. This is built by...

They build it by satellite photos
and like experience that they have.

Like, for example, if you look
towards the Casba there, you see...

On big trainings that they have
here for platoons and...

Sorry, I didn't understand,
what did you say?

—I'm saying, on big...
-Training.

...trainings that they have
here they would put,

besides the regular "red" team,
that is the opposite force,

they would add like a civilian...
population that are here,

they would put like a market and they
are selling vegetables or whatever.

—So it'll be like an actual theatre?
-Yeah.

You could film a Hollywood
movie here. If you want to.

You know it's...
What is fascinating is this square...

You see how important
the shadows here are.

And then, you have
all this empty square.

And then I'm trying to figure out...
But as regards the composition,

the towers of the minarets
are very complicated,

suddenly they take
all the importance there.

But anyway, I think
I should forget about this

and try to discover something else.

As they say,
you never get in the same river.

If we come here a little later,
that there is not going to...

Yeah, this is good maybe,
this is the best maybe.

Forget about this minaret...

Here it is better somehow.

It's OK.

Like, these figures in the back
they are so complicated

that they just become
too heavy, nothing on the right.

This is the only way.
Probably.

—Exactly where you stood before.
-Yeah.

And then, if you really want to get
rid of the background, to crop it,

but you have to shoot it from...

from this distance
because this is the correct.

I wouldn't like to be here
when these guys were attacking.

In fact, I wouldn't like
to be in any war.

And I feel lucky that
I haven't been in any war,

and I hope I won't be in any.

I was extremely lucky
that I grew up in Czechoslovakia,

in the country
which was not very rich,

the country where
there was not much freedom,

and a country in which
I couldn't travel.

So, suddenly I found myself
out of that country.

I lost my friends,
I lost my family,

I lost certain background,

the folk music,
the playing, singing...

All these things which you
lose if you leave your country.

And I decided not to cry,

and on the contrary I decided
to use it for my advantage.

To build a new life
and to see the world

which I couldn't do
in Czechoslovakia.

It is not by chance
that the Gypsies who travel

are very different
than the Gypsies who settled.

If you travel, the surrounding
has much bigger problem with you

to get you where
they would like to see you.

You are this guy,

you are different,
but in the same time you know

that it is very important
try to stay different.

Not to conform yourself,

to keep the healthy anger,

to keep it as long as possible.

I try to see a little
that the settlement is there.

This was a stone building
underneath, very old.

It's from Jordanian times under it,
and they demolished it too.

This used to be
where the rooms were.

Thank you.

I go down there.

Hello. Salaam to you too.

God bless you.

Fifty-six...

No, Abu Ali is speaking.

Well, I have friends
in "Shab al Dar".

From Israel and Czechoslovakia.

I don't speak Hebrew and I'm trying
to finish with them already.

Hopefully they want to leave soon.

Yes.

Want to have a look?

—Come.
-No, no.

Have a look.

OK.

Yes.

Look, look.

Go, go look.

From here, come.

Where's he from?

Are you from the settlement
Ma'ale Adumim?

—From Ma'ale Adumim?
-No.

Jerusalem.

—The nectarine is amazing, huh?
-What else you need?

You know,
I thought about this absurdity,

just: "God tell me
that this is my land,

and so I have to get it
in spite of the pharaohs,

in spite of Obama. Anybody."

Certainly,

his God tell him
quite a few other things too,

like that he shouldn't steal.

-All religions are saying it.
-True.

It happened that
I don't believe in the God.

—I believe...
-That you shouldn't steal.

...in certain things which apply
to probably in all religions.

So...

Well, they fixed it.

And this line was good.

Next time you bring spray.

Quite different, yeah.
The mountains was not...

You couldn't see the mountains,
it was not so present.

There is much more this horizon.

Interesting.

It's completely different.

And what is nice
that you see this line,

which is really
important here because,

if you take it out,
it would be big white space.

Of course, if I compose it now I have
to add space more, that it balance.

And today you see
the mountains here,

and what is nice
are these two lines,

these, the horizon of the sea,
even if you don't know

that it was really, that the sea
used to come just here,

that it was the restaurant
at the border of the sea.

Everything is different.

But, to come on the place
and to feel:

In this place there is
a picture waiting for me.

And to go there as many
times when you get it.

—Sometimes you return
to the first photo, no? Pardon?

Sometimes you come five times
and you go to the first...

Listen, sometimes... I have
the picture for example from Rome,

which we were... I was sitting
behind somebody on the motorbike,

and I saw it. I said:
"Listen, stop for two minutes."

I run, I take the picture.
Ten times I was going back.

Never again. Never.

Already what I did.

But I can't do it better.

Every time when I come here
it so beautiful,

But of course every time it's just...

I'm not in this spiritual thing
but this place is so spiritual.

If you are believer,
if you are not believer,

it doesn't matter,
something get on you.

And if Jesus exist, I am not surprised
that he returned to this desert.

Luckily they can't do anything
in this landscape.

No point to take pictures.

Just to enjoy it, it's enough.

They are designed like cages.
These are to prevent

rocks and stones from being
thrown into the houses by settlers.

The army doesn't have a mandate
to act against the settlers,

or rather it does
and it doesn't use it.

So, the settlers would do things
and the army would not intervene.

The police is supposed to intervene,
but the police is not here.

The settlers would come
and throw stones at them,

they would like push them
on the stairs

but the girls can't get off
the path and push back.

Sometimes their mothers were
with them, they'd also be pushed

and sometimes international...

—Hi, who are you?
-Listeners.

Just because we are in a sensitive
area. I just have to find out...

—No problem.
-OK. Never mind.

—I would ask...
-I believe in all that I say.

Who are these people?
I thought they couldn't walk around.

They walk from there,
they can't walk further down.

They just came out of there,
and this street they can walk.

—This is an "OK" street?
-Up to this door.

—Can we walk down there?
-Yes, because we are not Palestinians.

Very good. My name is Josef.

I don't have email, and I don't
have the phone either.

—Anyway, big cloud, yeah.
-Yes, it rained in the morning.

—Yeah?
-And last night.

But it was like showers,
not really heavy rain.

I saw that they changed the wall
here, they make it much higher.

For our "protection".

Yeah I know it...

You know, in Czechoslovakia
they call it "Iron Curtain",

and it was to prevent
that the Germans come.

But it was to prevent that the Czechs
go have a look what it looked like.

Anyway...

Here the walls are to prevent us
from going to the other side,

or to prevent the settlers
from coming into our side.

Exactly.
That's we have written,

we saw written:
"One wall, two jail",

—which is correct, no?
-Yes.

I don't like to see the city
divided as it is. It's not good.

Listen, I'm not sure how much
chance we are going to have.

So you have still the soldiers here.

Waiting for some sun.

Sun comes and goes.

Also we are close to sunset.

It's going to be over...

Yeah, it looks good. One never knows
what's going to happen when you...

when you develop it,
but it looks good.

I never photographed
the same in any country

and I never photograph any violence
because principally in any country

I didn't feel the same that
Czechoslovakia was my country,

I felt it was my problem
and I was a photographer, and...

In fact, I never did anything
like that in forty years after...

So, definitely it was
exceptional situation:

one day you wake up
and you are confronted

with something which is
much bigger than you are.

So, suddenly you react
different way,

the way which you never knew
you might ever be reacting.

Of course, I was not happy
that the Russians arrived.

But still there were
the positive things there,

that Czechs behaved as a nation,
that everybody was against,

and I admire how people behaved.

For me one of the most
important things was

how people changed in Prague '68,
it was a miracle.

And I would never believe
that people can change the way;

that overnight, suddenly,
when you have only one thing

which put people together
that it make them change completely.

That it doesn't matter if you are
communist, if you are not communist,

if you are young, if you are old,

if you are a worker,
if you are intellectual,

you have the same aim;
you don't want them to be here.

That's what makes
Palestinians strong too.

I must say I didn't feel hate

this early morning, when I saw
these Russian soldiers on the tanks.

I didn't feel the hate to them.

I felt that what happened to them
could happen to me,

I was soldier too,

one night they could wake me up,

put on the tank
and I could be somewhere

in the Warsaw
or in Bucharest in their situation.

So, then you are a soldier,

and in most of the cases
soldier do what he was told to do.

Tragic thing.

Let's go, no?

Yeah.

Is there still some fog coming?

A lot.

—It keeps on coming.
-Yeah.

Sometimes it happens,
sometimes not.

It's too flat.

Do you want to wait?

Maybe we can go
to have a look on the olives

and get back in...

Can you see any blue? No.

—Only grey.
-Yeah.

OK, let's try something else.

This wire is quite important there.

Now you can see
the whole road behind.

Yeah, as you say, anybody can
come, but it won't be the same.

Yeah, even me if I wouldn't
see the picture, I wouldn't see...

I would see something
completely different.

I didn't want to go to Israel,
essentially,

because I thought: first of all,

I'm European,
I am concentrating on the Europe,

I feel European and still there is
a lot of things to do here.

But also,
I knew that it is complicated,

I didn't want to get mixed up with it.
That my mind will get mixed up.

Because suddenly you start
to be involved in something

even if you don't want to be.

And I try to separate as much
as possible because I know,

if I worry or if I don't worry
it doesn't change anything.

But, what I realized that I can do,

I can go around
and show some people

what they maybe haven't seen.

Hello, how are you?
Where are you from?

—Pictures, taking pictures.
-Pictures? Ya.