“Miral” chronicles nearly four decades of change in the Middle East, told entirely from the unique perspective of a young Palestinian girl named Miral (Freida Pinto). Beginning in the late 1940s, just as the State of Israel is born, the film introduces us to three different women whose destinies are forged by the seismic shifts that occur when Palestine is subsumed by this new Israeli nation. These women are Miral’s mother, aunt, and surrogate mother. But it is Miral herself who emerges as the true protagonist — a constantly evolving character who inherits qualities from each of her forbears, learns from their experiences, and eventually becomes a woman strong enough and wise enough to remember — and write — this epic story of a divided country. (Dir. Julian Schnabel)