Some Notes on the Current Situation by Eran Kolirin

Some Notes on the Current Situation, directed by Eran Kolirin (The Band’s Visit), comprised of a series of six surreal episodes, is a film about our existential condition. 

I had the opportunity to see this film at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, which is taking place during this week of Chanukah. Following the screening, Eran Kolirin talked about the fact that the film is purposefully abstract, similarly, he said, nothing is understood in today’s world.  He explained that he was invited to work with a group of student actors at the Kibbutz Seminar and was given a minimal budget.  This series of episodes are the edited culmination of the exercises that this class of talented actors performed, under his direction. (He also wrote the script.)

The first episode is about how we are forced to bang our heads against the wall, and how everything is upside down and unclear. It concludes with people shouting “Now, now”, which is a hard-hitting reminder of all those Saturday night demonstrations when we shouted for the return of the hostages “now”!  The second episode, undoubtedly the most linear, shows a group of soldiers in military formation, doing theater exercises in preparation for the production of  a film for international streaming.  What is their film about, shouts the young commander.  The occupation, social disparity, apartheid, the inequity of the JNF-controlled lands – but do not despair, we have nice people here.  When asked about this episode, Kolirin explained that it was the most clear-cut but that was also a drawback because he prefers things to be more abstract and therefore, perhaps, more complex and unclear.

In another episode, a man is driving a truck filled with snow, getting nowhere, just driving ahead. His wife asks him, are you in a crisis – after all, who isn’t? They are on their way to deliver the snow to a film production that deals with who or what are human beings.

Even though Kolirin felt that he was directing a very abstract film which provided him with a tremendous sense of artistic freedom, his metaphors were hard-hitting and sometimes devastating.  The film is very cynical and satirical but at the same time is very critical of Israeli society, which is going nowhere fast, if not backwards. The government is pursuing occupation and apartheid, and has social policies which lead to greater inequity. Not only that, so much of life here has become absurd, and our government and Knesset have become theater of the absurd. Our leaders spout nonsense and spin all the time, and they often make no sense.

This is a serious film made by a very thoughtful and experienced Israeli filmmaker. While it is artistic and rather vague, it nevertheless raises profound existential questions: who are we as human beings and what kind of society have we become?

At this event, Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir) interviewed Eran Kolirin on the stage, and shared some insights from his own projects. He spoke about the fact that cinema as an art form will have a very difficult time competing with the 200,000 clips from cellphones – both Hamas and Israeli – that were shot and distributed via social media on October 7^th, making it very difficult to produce an Israeli feature film about the events of October 7^th. He wondered aloud, where will Israeli cinema go from here?

 

Ari Folman’s new film – Where is Anne Frank

Filmmaker Ari Folman is well-known for his remarkable, award-winning animated anti-war feature film, Waltz with Bashir (2008) which was extremely critical of the First Lebanon War (1982-2000), in which he was personally involved.  Also using the animated style, his latest film entitled Where is Anne Frank, based on the iconic Diary of Anne Frank -- and later literature about her death and the death of her sister-- is a brilliant, provocative and controversial film.

The story, which mixes past and present, revolves around Kitty, Anne’s imaginary friend, to whom she writes her diary.  On a stormy night, the glass case where the famous diary is kept is suddenly smashed and a figure emerges from the ink on the hand-written pages – the figure of Kitty.  Kitty is a spunky young girl, who is looking for her friend, Anne.  On the one hand, she finds evidence of her everywhere – the Anne Frank House, a bridge named for her, a theater in her memory.  But nowhere does she find anything that offers a true memorial to Anne’s values and life.  Where is compassion? Where are the people working to save the refugee children who are facing deportation?

Just like the story of Anne, Kitty’s story is also about first love.  Kitty is befriended by a refugee boy, not surprisingly named Peter, who helps her on all her exploits.  They make a daring pair, ice skating over the frozen canals of Amsterdam, fleeing from the police, scampering away with the holy diary itself!

I had the chance to view the Hebrew dubbed version at the Jewish Film Festival of the Jerusalem Cinematheque, this week.  Ari Folman and some members of the voice-over cast were present at the screening.  Folman talked about the importance of creating a culturally sensitive version of the film for Hebrew-speaking audiences--much of the English script was loosely translated into a contemporary and relevant Hebrew for viewers in Israel.  Kitty too is updated when she goes through a makeover and comes out as a chic girl, with trendy clothes and lots of style.   

Folman also said that the film combines the past and the present: the Holocaust story known by audiences already, and the Kitty story, which represents the transition to the contemporary period and to the issues of today, especially vis a vis the need to help refugees and asylum seekers survive in the face of so much evil and apathy within contemporary society, both in Israel and abroad.  When asked about the delicate balance between past and present that this film endeavors to deal with, Folman said that it was probably 40% past and 60% present, which tells you where his real focus lies.

Many people within the Jewish community might be surprised by the attempt to liken the Holocaust to contemporary issues, such as today’s refugees, as if it takes away from the meaning and message of the Holocaust for our young people to learn about social responsibility today. Folman does not dodge this issue. He clearly thinks that you can do both, that there can be a particularistic as well as a universalistic message when learning about the Holocaust.

This is an extremely creative, artistic and serious animated film, highly recommended not only for children, which builds on an iconic story that is already so well-known by people everywhere.  The genius of a filmmaker like Ari Folman is how he takes the viewer to see the story through a contemporary lens where Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism, racism and apathy towards refugees are all equally anathema, especially for those who care about the legacy of Anne Frank.  This is a controversial message, since many people think that one cannot equate the Holocaust with anything. Folman, himself the son of Holocaust survivors, does not exactly equate the Holocaust with what is going on today with refugees. Rather, he is not afraid to communicate the idea that refugees who are suffering—who have lost everything and have nothing, as was the case with Jews during the Holocaust—must be saved and given a fair chance to rebuild their lives. The bold hint is that Jews too could have been saved during the Holocaust period as well if people had not been so apathetic.

This film is a remarkable production – the animation is vivid and colorful, the Nazis are portrayed as ghoulish and scary, and the barking German shepherds are reminiscent of the wild dogs in Waltz with Bashir.

The film has been recommended for 10 and up, but knowing my grandchildren as I do, I would recommend it for 12 and up. Take a look at the trailer of the original English-language version.  

Where is Anne Frank? opens the Jerusalem Film Festival

 The Jerusalem Film Festival is well underway in person!  This week, Ari Folman’s new animated feature film, Where is Anne Frank? was screened to thousands at the festival's opening event. You might remember the remarkable critical acclaim given to Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir, also an animated feature film.

His new film, Where is Anne Frank is based on the Diary of Anne Frank,  and brings to life Anne’s imaginary friend, Kitty, to whom she wrote her diary during the period that she was in hiding.  The story offers insights for young viewers into subjects such as fascism and life in hiding.  Knowing Ari Folman, and the political content of his previous film, it is not surprising that the film also touches on a contemporary subject – individual responsibility in regard to others in our society, especially when confronting issues such as racism and human rights.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, earlier this year.  Check out this interview with the filmmaker, Ari Folman, talking about the film on youtube.