'PROMISES' A VIVID VIEW OF ISRAELI, PALESTINIAN KIDS.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

THE OUTSTANDING Oscar-nominated documentary ``Promises'' approaches the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from a unique vantage point - children - which gives us a view of life in and around Jerusalem that is intensely personal and immensely heartbreaking. By giving voice to the region's kids, who are usually only seen (typically as victims of terrorist violence) instead of heard, the movie humanizes age-old prejudices in ways that are sometimes funny, sometimes sad and sometimes chilling. It's a movie not to be missed.

Filmmakers B.Z. Goldberg, an Israeli-born American journalist who covered the intifada (Palestinian uprising), and Justine Shapiro (host of the British travel show ``Lonely Planet'') spent four years in Jerusalem following the lives of seven children and their families. Goldberg became the children's friend and confidant during the filming, leading to revealing interviews about what it's like growing up in the shadow of violence.

The seven children, ranging in age from 9 to 12, live within 20 minutes of each other in and around Jerusalem, but their circumstances are so different that they might as well be living on separate planets. Twins Yarko and Daniel reside in Jerusalem as secular Jews who love sports, question God and carefully examine strange-looking passengers on their bus rides out of a very real fear of terrorism.

Sanabel is a Palestinian girl living in a refugee camp whose journalist father has spent two years in an Israeli prison. To visit him for 30 minutes requires a special government permit to pass through checkpoints and the patience to endure an excursion that lasts most of the day.

Mahmoud is also a Palestinian. He lives in Jerusalem's Muslim quarter and hates the Jews for taking his ancestors' land. ``I support Hamas and Hezbollah. They kill women and children, but they do it for their country.'' When Goldberg tells him that he's Jewish, Mahmoud seems disbelieving, justifying his friendship with the filmmaker by saying, ``You're American. I'm talking about authentic Jews.'' Mahmoud never lets go of Goldberg's hand.

One of the film's most moving moments comes when the filmmakers smuggle Faraj, a Palestinian refugee, and his grandmother, past Israeli checkpoints to sift through the rubble of their ancestral village, where the family lived until 1948. The grandmother gives Faraj the key that once opened the front door of their home, and Faraj promises to give the key to his children and his grandchildren, until the land again belongs to Palestinians.

The children speak of violence and their hatred of the ``other'' (``The more Jews we kill, the fewer there will be,'' Mahmoud says), but there is also talk of reform and reconciliation. ``Promises'' builds to a moment when the twins Yarko and Daniel visit Faraj at his home in a Palestinian refugee camp. It's the first time any of the children have met someone from the other side and while they do talk about terrorism and politics, mostly they wrestle, play soccer and have fun.

But the meeting has a bittersweet end: Faraj tears up, knowing in his heart that the connection they're making is tenuous. Sure enough, the film's epilogue, shot two years later, shows most of the kids becoming more entrenched in their polarized rhetoric. ``Promises'' makes no judgments about this, offering instead a quiet prayer for peace and understanding.

PROMISES - Three and one half stars

(Not rated: news footage showing aftermath of violence)

Director: Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg and Carlos Bolado.

Running time: 1 hr. 46 min.

Playing: Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills.

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Yarko, a secular Jewish child, and Faraj, a Palestinian refugee, are two of the children featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary ``Promises.''