People of a certain age, such as I, may well recall with delight the entertainments of that urbane and witty pair Flanders and Swann.
While many of their songs, such as “The Hippopotamus,” were intended for nothing but pleasure, others carried a significant message, though subtly suggested. Among them was “In the Bath,” which playfully suggested that all our problems could be solved if we, including world leaders, sat together in a warm bath and talked about them.
I was reminded of this delightful idea when watching Oslo, a film based on the 1993 negotiations that led to the peace accord between Israel and Palestine. Clearly, in the light of the recent tragic events in Israel and particularly Gaza, this has enormous current relevance.
While Oslo (available on Crave Plus) does not, for obvious reasons, tell much about what went on in the room where the secret negotiations took place between Israeli and Palestinian representatives, it does convey much of the drama that surrounded those negotiations. Thus we are told how Mona Juul and her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, a Norwegian couple saddened and appalled by the fatal conflict between the two peoples, managed to skirt official protocols and set up an unofficial meeting between non–officially appointed representatives with the idea that bringing them together could result in some better understanding and agreement over the decidedly fraught situation.
The film, scripted by J. T. Rogers from his award-winning play, is ultimately not so much about the particular conflict. Rather it expresses one key conviction: despite nationalistic fervour or some other ideological tenet by which they may be led into conflict, ordinary people, being the ones most affected by any conflict, would somehow manage to get along if only they were left to themselves. There will always be people whose first reaction to conflict is one of violence, but the vast majority would rather not want to kill their neighbour, no matter the issue.
Here I am reminded of Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Man He Killed,” which is almost a subscript of Oslo. Others may recall the 1966 essay by Charlotte Keys, “Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came.” Oslo attempts to show that deeply felt enmity might well be ended if only the people got to know each other simply as fellow humans. As the film asserts, “It is only in the sharing of the personal that we can know who we really are.”
As a result, the most affecting and often humorous moments in the film are when those involved in the conflict can sit down together – not, of course, in a bath, but around a table or simply as they go for a stroll together, share jokes, or relate details about their respective families. At the same time, the film does remind viewers of how deep and divisive are the issues that separate the Israelis and the Palestinians – issues that seem to be impossible to resolve when fierce nationalism is central to them.
Despite this, one can only hope that imitators of the Norwegian couple, beautifully portrayed by Ruth Wilson and Andrew Scott, will bring together the opposing sides in the many terrible conflicts dividing the world today. Cynics may dismiss such an idea as naïve and unrealistic, but the film Oslo gently and entertainingly reminds viewers that progress towards peace is possible if only opponents can meet in a context that allows them to recognize their common humanity. And that, in these trying times, is certainly something worth considering.
