Cabaret Total is a hard-hitting anti-establishment war-weary film

I just returned from the Haifa Film Festival, where I had the opportunity to view a strong political film, Cabaret Total, מופע טוטאל, directed and starring Roy Assaf.  It is a film about freedom of speech, about corrupt politicians, and about not permitting yourself the luxury of hiding your head in the sand. Most of all, it is about the capacity of theater, specifically cabaret, to offer a form of critical social and political expression.  The filmmaker/lead actor, Roy Assaf, is a tremendously talented entertainer, appearing in just about every scene in the film. 

Assi is a combat soldier, just returning home from miluim (reserve duty).  Still in uniform, we watch him returning to the town in the desert where he lives with his wife, two children, and his parents.  Obviously somewhat disturbed by his recent experiences, he is imagining the sounds of war, the strafing and the bombs. It is apparent that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as do many Israeli soldiers when they come back from the wars.

Assi performs in a cabaret at the local community center, where they do talented and biting skits. He is also the drama teacher in the local high school, helping the seniors rehearse their concluding year play.  In a moment of tension, he shouts at his students that war isn’t so wonderful, in fact, if given the chance to do it over again, he wouldn’t want to do army service. This incident goes viral and he is dissed on social media and dismissed from his teaching job. Matters continue to spiral out of hand.

The issue of freedom of speech is particularly relevant in today’s Israel. Not only does the Ministry of Education try to control what teachers can and cannot say in the classroom, but other ministers and their staffs are watching people who say anything that is too critical of government policy, especially with regard to the current war in Gaza.  Also, social media is playing a negative role, which can lead to the shaming of anyone who expresses criticism of what is going on.

Notwithstanding the fact that the filmmaker talked about how it took him about seven years to make this film, I felt that this was the first anti-establishment, war-weary film to come out post October 7^th, 2023. It reflects a certain anger on the part of Israelis who are getting tired of fighting a corrupt government and fighting a forever war. In fact, in the press in Israel lately, there is more and more being written of soldiers dying in vain in an endless war, with no exit strategy.

Cabaret Total concludes with a fantastic scene reminiscent of Frederico Fellini’s masterpiece, 8 ½, with the parade of clown characters. This seems to be a nod to the absurdity of our current situation, in which theater can help us understand deeply some of the profound dilemmas with which we live and with which we struggle all the time.