"World Cinema: Israel"

My book, "World Cinema: Israel" (originally published in 1996) is available from Amazon on "Kindle", with an in-depth chapter comparing and analyzing internationally acclaimed Israeli films up to 2010.

Want to see some of the best films of recent years? Just scroll down to "best films" to find listings of my recommendations.

amykronish@gmail.com

Monday, May 15, 2017

The Important Things in Life!

Indoors (חדרי הבית) directed by Eitan Green is a film about the importance of “home” for a man who builds homes; it is about whether the four walls that constitute one’s house are truly important, or whether there are more important things in life.  Spoiler Alert: There are more important things in life!

The story is about a Jerusalem builder who is going bankrupt.  He is apparently a stand-up guy and a good family man.  Recently, the family has moved into a luxurious new apartment, which they obviously can’t afford.  After a work accident on his construction site, things begin to come apart and people start to come after him for money – he can't pay his workers; the building supply company is after him for a lot of money; and most scary, a loan shark is calling in his loan.  Only his Arab foreman, his brother-in-law and his basketball-playing adolescent son stand by him.

It was a good story, but surprisingly lacking in complexity of plot and the characters were pretty bland and cardboard thin.  Uri Klein, the film reviewer for Ha’Aretz highly recommended this film, so I went with high expectations.  But I was seriously disappointed.


Eitan Green’s previous films include American Citizen (1992), When Night Falls (1985) and Lena (1982).

No comments: