Adapted from the Tony Award-winning play of the same name, the film is based on a true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords in 1993.
Q-tips say: T It was interesting to watch the non-Middle Eastern point-of-view characters are well-meaning Norwegians.. They’re the married junior diplomat and sociologist who dreamed up, then quietly facilitated, the Scandinavian meetings while bigger powers were sponsoring another round of official, going-nowhere talks.
Mrs. Q says: With another recent flareup of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, “Oslo” seems depressingly relevant but also feels somewhat like ancient history. Critic comment: It is against Israeli law for a member of the Israeli government to meet directly with a PLO representative, and because PLO leadership, including chairman Yasser Arafat (never seen onscreen in the film), were then based out of Tunisia, two years of negotiations under American eyes have resulted in little progress. Bottom line: The sad realization that the accords did not bring about the peace the political characters were hoping for.