"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, July 27, 2020

Streaming Israeli Films


Regular readers of this blog are familiar with the Israeli film distributor called Go2Films.   During these difficult times, when many of us are staying at home as much as possible, Go2Films is offering a VOD service which includes many of their major releases of recent years.  See their VOD collection here .

Some of the films that have been reviewed on this blog that can be seen on VOD include (hot links to my reviews are provided):

Documentaries:
  • Ben Gurion Epilogue, directed by Yariv Mozer,  is a fascinating documentary which makes use of a previously unknown interview which was conducted in 1968 by Clinton Bailey, then a young American journalist.  
  • Women in Sink, directed by Iris Zaki, is a creative documentary about multi-ethnic clientele at a hair salon in Haifa.  
  • Café Nagler, directed by Mor Kaplanski  reveals the story of a Jewish family which owned a Berlin café in the 1920s.


TV Series
  • Arab Labor, seasons 3 and 4, scripted by Sayed Kashua, a humorous TV series which provides a glimpse at the life of an Israeli Palestinian journalist trying to navigate his way within Israeli society.


Feature films:
  • Eli and Ben, directed by Ori Ravid (2008),  is a feature film about adolescence.  It is also about corruption in Israeli society, as seen through the eyes of Eli, a savvy 12-year-old from Herzliyah, whose personal moral standards are unabashedly high and he demands the same of others.
  • Doubtful, directed by Eliran Elya (2017)   Forced to do community service after having hurt someone in a drunken driving accident, Assi is sent to work with a bunch of problem juveniles in Beersheba. This is the story of the relationship that he forms with one of the youngsters.
  • Present Continuous, directed by Aner Preminger and script by Orit Kimel (2013), is about the difficulties of letting your children grow up and become independent, especially when you are living in a constant state of anxiety and siege.  This is a delicate study of a woman in crisis.  It is also an intense and beautiful look at her relationship with her husband and her teenage children.
  • Echo, directed by Amikan Kovner and Assaf Shnir (2018), is a compelling feature film about the relationship between a husband and wife. The husband becomes obsessed with trying to understand his wife and her comings and goings.
  • AKA Nadia, directed by Tova Ascher (2015), is a complex narrative film about issues of identity, racism and intolerance. 
  • An Israeli Love Story, directed by Dan Wolman (2017), set in 1947 during the tumultuous period of the end of the British Mandate, the film tells a strikingly human story of the love affair between between a young man and a young woman mixing a private story with the national narrative.  
  • Outdoors (Bayit B’Galil), directed by Assaf Saban (2018), provides a compelling look at a marriage.  The film takes place and was shot over the course of a year -- we watch as a house is built and a marriage slowly collapses. 


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