AllMovie

The creation of the state of Israel has been effectively told from the European, American and Israeli perspectives in many films, particularly the widely seen Exodus. However, only a few films deal with that event from the standpoint of those living in the surrounding countryside, and Al-Lail is one of them. The story is set in the now obliterated Syrian border town of Kenitra, and follows the activities of one small family as its members cope with the chronic state of warfare that existed between them and the burgeoning state of Israel just a few miles away, as well as the tremendous influx of Palestinian Arab refugees.