Holding Liat (2025)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you tend to lean toward, it can’t be overstated how much suffering has occurred as a result of the Israel-Palestine conflict. People have died, and individuals have been held hostage for extensive periods of time—and friends and family have suffered either right beside them or halfway around the world. Any criticism in the following paragraph isn’t meant to downplay the severity of these situations, as Holding Liat attempts to offer a new lens through which to view the conflict and the emotional and mental damage it has caused around the world. 

The aforementioned conflict began more than a century ago—but the modern conflict, with which we are all likely more familiar, began just a few years ago. While that timeline feels insignificant in the grand scheme of the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, the reality is that our ability to retrieve information on the conflict has never been easier. With that, it feels that, as a consumer, we’ve been forced to see and hear of this conflict in overabundance. It has become challenging to stay emotionally present in the Middle Eastern struggles, and while so many people are still suffering, I’ve found myself slowly becoming disconnected from all that is transpiring. Holding Liat is another venture into this world—and while this film is not at fault for wanting to spread awareness, it feels like it’s another straw that is moving toward the inevitability of breaking the veritable camel’s back. 

The following is where my frustration with Holding Liat comes from: the chaotic nature of the family. I can’t even begin to fathom what this family is experiencing as they deal with the hostage situation that has claimed their daughter, Liat Beinin Atzili. While I appreciate how honest Holding Liat is, I struggle to fully understand Liat’s family’s approach. Their ultimate goal is to free their daughter—but I struggled to get a read on how they’d like to make this happen. A combination of attempted pressure on politicians and a complete unwillingness to become politically involved, as well as wanting to collaborate with whoever might have the ability to make change while, at the same time, literally saying “Fuck them,” makes for an inconsistent tone and a fractured story. 

The goal in creating Holding Liat, beyond spreading awareness and shedding light on an incredible historical event, is to present something honest and organic to the audience. While the aforementioned chaos is frustrating and can sometimes make it challenging to follow, it also presents viewers with something real—refusing to pull punches or attempt to manipulate viewers' opinions of the family and their experiences. 

In many ways, Holding Liat is more of the same: just another opportunity for individuals to highlight the insanity that consistently transpires in the Middle East. While those cinematic ventures have certainly worn on me and caused me to develop some level of desensitization, I do believe that Director Brandon Kramer manages to create something unique enough (though not without fault) that allows the film to be both enjoyable and informative. 

Directed by Brandon Kramer.  

6.5/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE