In December 1992, Mona Juul at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaches out to her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, who is stationed in Jerusalem. He heads straight into a conversation with Yossi Beilin, who outlines a persistent deadlock in the peace talks: both sides insist on getting everything they want at once. Terje counters with a bold new idea—a unilateral shift to a more neutral ground for dialogue, proposing that an Israeli representative meet a Palestinian counterpart away from the usual environments.
The tension shifts to London, where [Mona Juul] again plays a pivotal mediator as she and Terje introduce Ahmed Qurei to the discussion and pair him with Yair Hirschfeld, an Israeli economist by training. The session remains chilly at first, but gradually warms as the parties begin to see the potential for progress. A crucial element of this phase is the sense that smaller, informal exchanges could unlock bigger formal talks.
A follow-up meeting takes place at a manor near Oslo, with Hassan Asfour joining as a Palestinian representative alongside Qurei, and Hirschfeld pairing with Ron Pundak to represent Israel. The atmosphere, while formal, relaxes as participants share meals and social moments, slowly yielding the first drafts of what would become a Declaration of Principles (DOP). Yet because neither Hirschfeld nor Pundak hold official government status, the talks teeter on the edge of collapse as the process grows entangled in national prerogatives and procedural questions.
In a bid to keep things alive, Terje makes a provocative claim—that he could recruit a bona fide Israeli official into the talks. Mona, recognizing the fragility of the moment, decides to break her “facilitate only” rule and confides in Johan Jørgen Holst, the Norwegian foreign minister, who then arranges a direct meeting with Uri Savir from the Israeli foreign ministry to review the evolving DOP.
The encounter between Savir and Qurei begins with sharp accusations and a fierce exchange of blame, but it soon shifts as Savir reveals a willingness to consider concessions: he suggests ceding the Gaza Strip and Jericho as an autonomous Palestinian region, a move that could unlock broader agreement. Savir then brings the draft to Joel Singer, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal adviser, who presses to rewrite the document. The tension rises again, threatening to derail the entire process.
At Hirschfeld’s urging, Mona steps into the fray with a personal perspective, offering her own experiences from the conflict to humanize the negotiations. The film employs flashbacks to hint at the experiences that shaped her viewpoint, weaving memory into the present negotiations and helping to defuse the stalemate.
From this point, the Oslo process begins to move toward a formal conclusion. A long-awaited telephone conference between Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat is arranged, with Arafat still in exile in Tunis. Qurei speaks on behalf of Arafat and the Palestinian leadership, translating the English dialogue so the other side can follow. After a drawn-out exchange, both sides acknowledge each other’s legitimacy and agree to defer the most controversial issue—Jerusalem—long enough to finalize the broader framework.
The film closes with a montage of real-world consequences and milestones that followed the Oslo Accord: Rabin’s famous White House address—“We who have fought against you, the Palestinians, we say to you today, in a loud and clear voice: ‘enough of blood and tears, enough’”—and the grim later history that includes his assassination in 1995 and ongoing debates over Jerusalem. It also nods to the onset of the Second Intifada in 2000, reminding viewers that the road to peace remained fraught and uncertain. Yet the narrative affirms the Oslo meeting as a turning point that underscored dialogue and mutual recognition as essential tools for peace.
The ensemble cast contributes to a richly textured portrayal of the negotiations, including Jan Egeland and Yigal Naor in supporting roles, whose presence emphasizes the broader international and regional dynamics at play.
