On a Narrow Bridge

It's not a good film, nor is it bereft of charming qualities. I have no proof of this, but being a first-generation Mizrahi Israeli, who knows Arabic, I suspect that Dayan was influenced by Egyptian cinema. Narrow Bridge feels like a typical Egyptian ensemble melodrama, right down to the slightly distant photographic style. On a superficial level the story is uniquely Israeli, but romance across a political divide is a pretty common theme in Eastern cinema (Arabic and even Indian).