LIFE LESSONS from 'THE LITTLE TRAITOR'

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The Little Traitor: A movie showing on Prime video, follows the unusual friendship between Proffy Liebowitz, a precocious and articulate 12-year-old Jewish boy, and a British soldier posted in Palestine named Stephen Dunlop. Though a sweet unassuming ‘coming of age' movie set in innocent times, it teaches us a lot about relationships, learning, and life.

                                    


1. Unexpected friendships are the best ones: As we meander through life, the possibility to make a friend lurks at every corner. Life gives us this beautiful gift of opportunity through  surprising and sometimes strange situation and coincidences. Take the opportunity, walk the common path and explore where it carries you. Keeping it or leaving it the power of choice is yours. The movie shows us a glimpse of a brief friendship that was carried in the hearts for a lifetime.

2. Common interests and shared beliefs build good friends: The statement “you too?” has started many a friendship. Humans have a need to share our inner thoughts with a mirror of our souls. It can be the initial trust builder or a starting point of a long journey. The biblical Book of Samuel was this common interest that made Proffy realize that he has something in common with his enemy.

3. There is a teacher everywhere:  The option to learn is everywhere, teachers come in all shapes, sizes, and situations. Train yourself to grab opportunities to learn. Every skill in life counts however complex, interesting, or mundane it is to learn. The Sergeant Stephen is studying the book of Samuel to improve his Hebrew, knowing very well that he is not going to spend a lifetime in Palestine. Their time spent challenging each other to pronounce the toughest possible words in their respective language is a joyful learning technique...indubitably, daleem, snooker, meshugga, septuagenarian... it goes on.

4. Strangers are the family our hearts seek, who listens without judgement: All of us have experienced this sometime in life. Today in our extremely virtual, connected worlds we gather support and strength through the networks we have made online, people from other geographies, time, age, and situations far from us. There is a strange comfort in opening up to strangers which is not so with our immediate family. It comes from the knowledge that they will not be judgemental, or criticize our actions. Proffy could share his ‘coming of age’ secrets with Stephen and Stephen in exchange, his plans for the future. The respect for that bond sustained separation for a lifetime.

5. You need friends of all kinds to go through life: All your friends will never be on the same plane of understanding. You have to respect and acknowledge personal dynamics between individuals in a group to remain friends. Every relationship between two people is unique and we need it for our personal growth. Expecting everyone to understand the depths of a relationship is an impossibility. Acknowledge the fact that you will outgrow some friendships as you live, there may be a time where friends will be mere acquaintances, and that is ok. Doors to new friendships will open. Proffy’s relationships with his peers, neighbourhood elders, and Stephen show us that.

The Little Traitor is a simple and tender story of friendship between unequals, in a conflicted land that has a lot to teach us all. Definitely worth a watch.

#primevideo # friendship #choice #skills #strangers 

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