The Role of Architecture is furthering a Political Agenda

Rule of Stone, directed by Danae Elon, an Israel-Canada co-production, provides insight into the architectural history of Jerusalem.  Through the stories linked to the beautiful Jerusalem stone, which by law (since British Mandatory times) covers all of the buildings in the city, the viewer learns about the role of historical appropriation that architecture can play within the city.

Through the use of archival footage and interviews with architects, urban planners, and local Palestinians, the film provides a riveting story about the quarrying and chiseling of Jerusalem stone, stone that is literally part of the building blocks of the city, but which subtly covers a relentless Israeli strategy of annexation and appropriation within and around the Old City and throughout East Jerusalem.

The film introduces us to a Palestinian stonemason whose home within the quarry was demolished by city authorities.  We meet architects such as Moshe Safdie, Ada Karmi and Zvi Efrat, all of whom have played roles in designing the growing city of Jerusalem.  Safdie talks about his Habitat ’67 Canadian village which was modeled on a Palestinian village.  Efrat talks about the “use of brutal force to redesign the city”.   Examples are given such as the destruction of the Mughrabi neighborhood adjacent to the Western Wall, within the walls of the Old City, and the destruction of the Mamilla slum neighborhood, adjacent to the Jaffa Gate, in order to build fancy housing which would connect East and West.  In both of these cases, political decisions have required the destruction of entire neighborhoods.  

In another instance, we see how the Jewish attempt to pretend that we have been in every corner of this land forever, leads to the incursion into the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan.  Here, a new visitor’s center called Kedem is planned, which will further the political agenda of Jewish sovereignty over all of Jerusalem.

Perhaps even more shocking is the intentional policy of forcefully guarding the demographics of Jerusalem at a 70% Jewish and 30% Palestinian ratio. This policy requires that the building of new Palestinian homes be completely stifled. No building permits are issued and therefore, when someone adds a room to their home, the municipality arrives and demands that it be demolished.

In dealing with the cruelty of building policies within the city, the erasure of history, the appropriation of land and the dispossession of Palestinians, the question is asked of Safdie, do architects have a political and ethical responsibility?

Can Jerusalem be a city for all of its inhabitants, an open city, with freedom to live and thrive for all of its citizens? According to this film, this is certainly not the direction of the authorities in Israel.

Rule of Stone (2024, documentary, 84 minutes) is available from Filmoption.

Homosexuality within the Haredi community

 Pink Lady, directed by Nir Bergman, is a new Israeli feature film, currently playing in movie theaters in Israel.  It is a touching, intimate and tragic portrayal of married life within the Haredi community. 

It is also a film about homosexuality.  Homosexuality within this community is still considered deviant behavior and therefore, I felt it was like watching something from a completely different anthropological setting! 

This is not the first film about homosexuality within the Haredi community, but it is the first in which we experience the point of view of the woman who feels trapped in a marriage that just isn’t working.

On the background of the alleyways of Jerusalem, we meet Bati and Lazar, who are apparently happily married with three children under the age of 8.  Bati discovers that Lazar is being blackmailed for large sums of money because of his intimate behavior with his yeshiva study partner.  The next hard-hitting realization is that her husband is not so interested in her sexually. Even though Bati believes strongly in the power of prayer and the possibility of God intervening and changing her husband’s behavior, there is nothing wrong in trying to take matters in your own hands.  With the help of a less religious friend who she meets at the mikveh where she works, Bati decides to try shopping for alluring intimate apparel.  Slowly, Bati acquires more understanding and undergoes self-discovery.

The scenes between all the women, where they talk in hushed whispers about their marital and sexual problems, are fascinating.  They speak in euphemisms, but they are startingly forthright, concerned, and open with each other.

Nir Bergman makes wonderful films about people, their emotions, their problems, and their relationships.  He is well-known for BrokenWings, Saving Neta, Here We Are, Intimate Grammar, and In Treatment (script).

Pink Lady is available from Go2Films.

Watch thetrailer here.

 

A New Feature Film about the Haredi Community

 Home, directed by Benny Fredman, screenplay written by Benny Fredman and Dror Keren, is a film about greed and hypocrisy within the Jerusalem haredi community.  The story is about a newly-wed couple, Yair and Nava, who are trying to find their way by building a mutually understanding relationship and a warm and loving home.  The story is based on a real event that happened to the filmmaker, when he was a young man, living with his new wife in Geula, which is an over-crowded, haredi neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem. 

The film begins with Yair studying at a kolel (yeshiva) for married men, but he is dreaming of opening a computer store.  When he opens his first store, he is met with a few surprises.  One of them is Nava’s disappointment at the fact that her husband is no longer a torah scholar.  Another is the neighborhood committee which is demanding protection money under the guise of inspecting that he isn’t selling anything that will undermine the morals of the community’s young people.  Yair agrees immediately to selling only computers and MP-3 players (remember those?) which are not connected to the internet or to radio.  As his business grows, the amount of protection money doubles.  Then the terms change, and the committee wants a bigger pound of flesh, but Yair isn’t so willing to play the game. 

In his remarks following the screening of his film, the filmmaker said: “I tried to show both sides, the side of the hero and the side of the head of the neighborhood committee who wants to protect the children of the neighborhood.  I tried to show the complexity of a man who finds himself fighting against his community, his family, everything he knows.”

Home (110 minutes, 2023) is a gripping thriller, with wonderful pacing. The viewer is drawn in and really cares about the characters who are seen with depth and lots of personality.  But most importantly, it is a based-on-real-life look at navigating one’s life within a tight-knit haredi community. The film is available from Go2Films. 

 

Prizewinning film, The Future, by Noam Kaplan

 The Future, written and directed by Noam Kaplan, was a prizewinner at the Tribeca Fim Festival, June 2023. 

Noam Kaplan’s previous feature film, Manpower, was about migrant workers living in South Tel Aviv. Check out what I wrote about it on this blog.

His new film, The Future, is a provocative film about women, about the Occupation, and about our future, here in Israel-Palestine.

A Palestinian young woman named Yaffa has been arrested for the assassination of the Minister of Space and Tourism. In fact, in the opening scene, Yaffa (played by a Palestinian actress named Samar Qupty) is brought by a police investigator to re-enact the scene in which she shot and killed the minister.  Later, the Security Services bring her to the clinic of Nurit (played by Reymonde Amsallem), a futuristic profiler who can supposedly identify potential terrorists and thereby prevent terrorist incidents. Since Nurit didn’t succeed in foretelling Yaffa’s attack on the minister, she is meant to interrogate her in order to better understand what went wrong. 

In her series of meetings with Yaffa, she tries to delve into what kind of relationship she had with her mother, what kind of childhood she had, what motivated her to acquire a gun and to decide to assassinate the minister.  At the same time, she is learning a lot about herself, about her relationship with her own mother and about her desire to have a child.

All of this is told on the background of the entire country waiting to learn of the success of an Israeli spaceship named “The Hope” on its way to the moon. 

Highly critical of the Occupation, The Future offers a shocking look at our future.  Can there be any hope? The film is available from GumFilms.

 

New Adaptation of an Amos Oz Novel

Judas(הבשורה של יהודה) , directed by Dan Wolman, screenplay by Shosh Wolman, is based on the literary masterpiece by Amos Oz. This is an art film, literary in its style, and quite sensitive, lyrical and even romantic. Take a look at the trailer.

It is the winter of 1959 in Jerusalem, rainy and cold, and Shmuel has dropped out of the university. He takes a job as a live-in companion to Gershom, an elderly and infirm man. 

They have long conversations together, in particular about Shmuel’s thesis, which he has put aside, which deals with Jewish views of Jesus, specifically about Judas Iscariot, and his betrayal or lack of betrayal of Jesus.  Also living with them is the mysterious Atalia, the widowed daughter-in-law of Gershom. The story is about the conversations between Shmuel and Gershom and it is also about the relationship that slowly develops between Shmuel, the 20+ naïve and eager and bushy-tailed university student and Atalia, the 40+ bitter widow.  

In his development of Shmuel, Amos Oz has created a university student, who is obsessed with the subject of Judas and his motivations.  History called Judas a traitor, a betrayer of Jesus, but Shmuel’s interpretation is that Judas was misunderstood and was actually a true disciple and believer in the teachings of Jesus.  

There is a parallel story of betrayal, or perhaps misunderstood betrayal. Atalia’s father, Shealtiel Abravanel, was called a traitor due to his political beliefs.  He was against the founding of the State and partition, and supported an alternative that would bring about more cooperation with the local Arab population.  (Probably, he is meant to be a figure from the Martin Buber - Judah Magnes Brit Shalom group.)  The fictional character, Abravanel, believed that Arabs and Jews should and could live side by side. But this was not the path generally accepted within the leadership during the period of the founding of the State.  Atalia’s father was an ideologue, ahead of his time.  This is a reflection of the politics of Amos Oz himself, who was a radical, believing in the possibility of Jews and Arabs living side by side.

Atalia seems to be traumatized from her own experience as a war widow.  She mourns her dead husband Micha, who died in the War of Independence at Sha’ar Hagai, in the battle for Jerusalem. She says that “he ran with the herd to slaughter” – and the battles fought at Sha’ar Hagai and nearby Latrun truly were slaughters.  Atalia’s father called the War of Independence, “a madness of Ben Gurion.”  The film creates a parallel between Atalia’s father and Judas – both were not understood in the period in which they lived; they were men of firm beliefs, notwithstanding the fact that others did not understand them and labeled them as traitors.  

The not-so-subtle reference to today becomes clear – if you are critical of the societal consensus and government policies, does that make you a traitor to the cause?

Dan Wolman is one of my favorite Israeli filmmakers.  His films successfully mix the private with the national. His filmography includes a great many award-winning feature films, including An Israeli Love Story, Hide and Seek, The Distance, and Foreign Sister.  His films My Michael and Gei Oni – Valley of Fortitude are both literary adaptations, as is his recent film, Judas.  My Michael and Judas are both adapted from novels by Amoz Oz.  Gei Oni is based on the novel by Shulamit Lapid.  All of Wolman’s films are characterized by his humanity and sensitivity.

At a screening of the film today, at the Jerusalem Theater, Wolman talked about how the film is “all” Amos Oz.  He requested permission from Amos Oz before he died.  In fact, Oz saw the first versions of the film, but he didn’t live to see it completed.   Wolman even used a recording of Oz's voice as part of the sound-over, near the end of the film.  When asked about the challenges a filmmaker faces when adapting a literary masterpiece, Wolman talked about how he looks at a literary piece and thinks about how he can adapt it through his own filters.  He specifically chose less-known actors so that the viewing audience wouldn’t be confused by previous roles for which the actor might have been known.

The film is also an ode to the city of Jerusalem, its meaning, its landscape, and its history. 

Judas (feature film, 84 minutes) is distributed internationally by Go2Films.

 

The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem -- An Israeli TV series is the hottest item on Netflix

The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, directed by Oded Davidoff, and based on the novel by Sarit Yishai Levi, is a new TV series, previously broadcast on YES-TV in Israel and now streaming on Netflix. 

What makes it so special?  The fact that it is exotic, set in a different historical period, and so much of it is in Ladino (Judeo Spanish), not to mention Hebrew, Arabic, English and even some Yiddish!  This is a story about the divide between Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, between Jews and Arabs, between Jews and the ruling powers (specifically the Ottomans and then the British), and between the socialist Jews working to create a state and the right-wing Jewish underground. 

The first episode sets the stage. We meet the Armoza family, a wealthy Sephardi family (of elite Spanish descent), who refuse to permit their son, Gabriel, to marry the woman he loves because she is Ashkenazi.  Instead, he is forced to marry Rosa.  The series moves back and forth in time, which sometimes is confusing, but overall provides a fascinating way for the viewer to discover how things evolve. 

The set design is especially well-done.  Architectural models are used throughout -- models of Jerusalem, the neighborhood with the background of the walls of the Old City, close-ups on the courtyards and streets.  As the series progressed, and the models changed, I began to really love this choice!

The first few episodes are about Gabriel and his lusting after the woman he loves.  He is apparently rather weak, and really can’t stop himself.  In these episodes, we also see how connected he is to his daughter, Luna, who in later episodes will become the beauty for whom the series is titled.  When she’s young, there is a particularly touching scene of Gabriel picking lemons with his daughter in his arms.  This hints at the close relationship that develops between the two.

The series is blessed with some humor – for example, when a friend comes from New York with a gift of a bra for Rosa!  There are lots of belly-dancing scenes, making the whole thing rather exotic.  There are also many scenes within an Orthodox church.  And there is quite a bit of politics – Rosa’s brother becomes a Jewish “freedom fighter” in the 1930s, making quite a bit of the story about the right-wing underground organization, the Etzel – their violent activities and their in-fighting.

So, with all of these elements, and plenty of drama, why didn’t I like the series?  I have been thinking about this a great deal during the past few days, while watching the entire season of 10 episodes, and I have concluded that the reason for this is that the characters were not likeable.  Gabriel (played by Michael Aloni, known to viewers as Shtissel) is a weak man; his wife Rosa is bitter as a result of finding herself in a loveless marriage; Gabriel’s mother is a manipulative woman; and Rosa’s brother is portrayed as immature and surprisingly egotistical.  These largely unhappy characters were too “soapy” for me—they turned the series into too much of a melodrama.

The Story of a Public Housing Building in Jerusalem

In The Stars of Stern, filmmaker Gad Abittan documents a public housing building which is going through drastic change.  The building, located in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of western Jerusalem, is home to the filmmaker, who narrates the film with a lot of humor and charm.

I especially liked the fact that the filmmaker mixes his own personal story with the story of the building.  He talks about his aliyah from Morocco via Youth Aliyah in the 1960s and his handicap as a result of being seriously wounded while serving in the Israeli army.

We meet diverse and fascinating tenants – some of them renters and some owners, some veteran Israelis, particularly from North African countries like Morocco, and some recent immigrants.  We meet Clara, a veteran, who is the "soul of the building", running the house committee for many years; an elderly couple, recent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, who live a very lonely existence in this building; Moshe, from Morocco, who lives with his brother and is very playful with many of the neighbors, some of whom think that he might be somewhat disturbed.  We are witness to some poignant shared moments between the neighbors, and also some disturbing funerals.

Abittan tells the viewer that the film started out as a love letter to his building and its residents, and eventually became a letter of farewell.  We begin to understand the meaning of the farewell, when his neighbors begin to move out.  In 2008, ultra-orthodox (haredi) families began moving in.  Their families are quite large, and the apartments are too small.  They leave their strollers and bikes in the entrance hallway, and the veteran residents complain.  

Demanding respect from the secular Jews, the religious Jews begin to impose their lifestyle on the others within the public sphere – insisting that the women dress modestly, for example, which causes friction and arguments.  As the tensions rise, more and more people decide to leave the building, and even more haredim move in. Today, the building is 70% haredi – the turnover took place in just under 10 years.  When Clara decided to move out, Abittan admits that things were no longer the same. And he himself has decided to move to Tel Aviv, but it is very difficult to find affordable housing there.

This is a moving human story of identity and displacement in an old Jerusalem neighborhood. I found it to be compelling but sad.

The Stars of Stern (documentary, 60 minutes) is available from the filmmaker, Gad Abittan –

yarezabittan@gmail.com

Political and Religious Extremism in "Red Cow"

Red Cow, the new debut film by Tsivia Barkai-Yacov, tells the story of Benny, 17-years-old, who lives with her father.  Her household is an interesting one -- her father encourages her to don tefillin for morning prayers and her mother died at Benny’s birth.

 

Benny’s name, short for Binyamina, draws our attention to her ambivalent attitude toward her role as a female within her religious community.  Another cue, perhaps not so subtle, is the extreme close-up on Benny’s red hair, which opens the film.  This is certainly a reference to the red color of the cow in the title of the film, and already a hint, in the first shot, that Benny herself might become a sacrificial lamb.

The fascinating part of this film is the context – Benny and her father live in a small apartment which looks out at the Dome of the Rock, in an enclave surrounded by Muslims, perhaps in the village of Silwan, right outside the Old City of Jerusalem.  Her father is a leader of a right-wing group of zealots who favor the use of violence in order to stop the evacuation of hilltop youth at Amona, and more importantly believe it is their duty to bring about the destruction of one of the most holy Muslim sites, the Dome of the Rock, thereby permitting the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.  According to the Bible, in order to re-establish prayers in the new temple, they need an unblemished red heifer which must be sacrificed. Now that a sacred red heifer is found, they are that much closer to their goal. 

Notwithstanding the wonderful photography and composition of each scene and the interesting political context, the rest of the film is a poorly scripted story of a girl’s dissatisfaction with her community (she goes so far as to tell her father that his plans could bring about World War III) and her sexual awakening in the arms of another girl. Her authoritarian father’s reaction when he learns of this homosexual affair is quite painful to watch.  But more importantly, we see how the affair becomes the most important journey in Benny’s life – more important than the religious and the political.

Red Cow is available from Laila films (lailafilms.office@gmail.com).

The Other Story by Avi Nesher

Avi Nesher is one of Israel’s greatest and most prolific filmmakers.  In his early years, he was well-known for Sing Your Heart Out (HaLahaka).  After a long period working in Hollywood, he returned to Israel where he has made some of the more important films of the last 25 years: Turn Left at the End of the World, Secrets, Wonders, and Past Life.

According to the publicity for his latest film, The Other Story, it’s about a young woman who is becoming haredi (ultra-orthodox) and her parents want to prevent her from marrying, because, let’s face it, marrying someone from the haredi world would probably be an irreversible commitment for her. But the film is not only about that. It’s about so much more.   

It is a gripping complex narrative film that follows two family stories.  Both stories are about relations between parents and children, and explore whether any of us really can know what’s best for our children. 

Anat and Shahar were a couple when they were secular, even hedonistic, youngsters.  Today, they have both become ultra-orthodox and are engaged to be married. Shahar is the lead singer in a band and is studying in a Jerusalem yeshivah and Anat is in an ultra-orthodox seminary for girls. In a desperate attempt to block the upcoming wedding, Anat’s mother sends for her estranged husband who has been living in the USA. She wants his help in stopping the wedding at any cost.

In the second story, Anat’s grandfather and father are both therapists and are counseling a couple who are fighting over what is best for their young son. Both parents seem to be somewhat off balance – the father is ready to stoop to any means to keep control over his son and the mother participates in a so-called “cult” which is actually an ultra-feminist group where the women are worshipping a Canaanite goddess. 

The parallel between ultra-orthodoxy and ultra-feminism, both as forms of extremism, is quite striking. Who is to say which zealotry is preferable – extreme secularism or ultra-orthodoxy? 

    

I loved The Other Story.  It is filled with sharp dialogue, dramatic tension, multiple motivations, and in-depth characterizations. 

Combining the Personal and National

One of my favorite documentary film styles is the personal documentary which combines the personal and the national.

In her new prizewinning film, Wall, filmmaker Moran Ifergan combines her own personal story with so many of the issues that divide us in contemporary Israel.  A graduate of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem, Ifergan is from a traditional, religious, Moroccan family in Beersheba.  She herself was religious until the age of 18. Two of Moran Ifergan’s previous documentary films were reviewed on this blog.

Ifergan has made an interesting artistic decision to combine a personal soundtrack of phone-calls, discussions and What’s App messages together with visuals, mostly from the women’s section at the Kotel.  She spent a full year filming at the Kotel, around the clock, searching for meaningful and life-transforming events.  Why the Kotel?  She admits that the film deals with faith, gender issues, problems of young couples, loneliness, and family – on the personal level.  And with issues of holiness, religion, politics, and nationalism -- on the national level. What better venue could be chosen to talk about questions of religion in her life and issues of nationalism -- and combine it all with the intimacy and confessional nature of talking about her own personal story. 

And why is the soundtrack the only place where the personal exists in the film, creating a distance and making it so that we never see the filmmaker, only hear her conversations throughout?  She offers two reasons for this: “I use my personal story to talk about something more universal. Also, I wanted to deal with how a personality can be represented by sound and not by picture.”  It’s amazing how well this technique succeeds, creating two parallel stories – one in the soundtrack and one in the visual.

Ifergan is a young mother going through a divorce.  Her recorded conversations are with her mother, her sister, and her close friend.  Her traditional and old-fashioned mother does not approve of her life choices – not of her filmmaking and not of her splitting with her husband of three years.  On the other hand, her best friend relates to her loneliness and lifestyle crisis honestly and openly in their recorded conversations. 

One night, along comes a religious woman who tells her that she can see in her eyes that she is missing inner peace.  And she proceeds to tell her all about mikveh, and the spirit of God that you can let into your life by fulfilling the laws of family purity. This dialogue is an example of the filmmaker’s letting us in to encounter her own grappling with religion and a religious lifestyle. She also draws our attention to the ultra-nationalism of Jerusalem Day with its flag waving and its indoctrination of our young people.  We catch a glimpse of the military ceremonies at the Kotel and the tears of Memorial Day.  But most importantly we become involved up close and intimate with dozens of young girls and women praying at the Kotel.

Wall (documentary, 64 minutes) provides a fascinating look at issues that are important to us – how we relate to Jerusalem, to the Kotel, to a religious lifestyle, to anti-Arab feeling and fanatic nationalism.  The film is available from Cinephil.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Since shortly after the Six-Day War of 1967, when Israel annexed East Jerusalem, the residents of East Jerusalem have been residents of Israel, but not citizens. As residents, all of their personal status matters must be registered via the Israeli Ministry of the Interior in East Jerusalem.

An award-winning and compelling documentary film by Amir Har-Gil (an Israeli - Jew) and Isfahan Bahaloul (an Israeli - Muslim), Jerusalem in Line, tackles the difficult subject of how these residents have been humiliated and mistreated by this ministry, and how their basic human rights have been denied.    

People go to the Ministry of Interior offices to register births and marriages, and to apply for passports -- in this case actually laissez-passez documents since the Palestinians of East Jerusalem are not able to receive passports since they are not considered citizens of Israel. The applicants were forced to wait on long lines in the hot sun, were treated poorly when they got inside, and their requests were often denied without serious investigation into the complications and implications of each case.

The film, which is premiering this month at the Cinema Village in New York City, as part of the Socially Relevant Film Festival, follows three stories of people who have been forced to fight on-going battles with the Ministry of Interior due to serious infringements of their rights.  One story is about a 12-year-old girl who loses her health insurance since her resident status had been revoked for no apparent reason.  Another is the story of a Palestinian man whose residence in an East Jerusalem neighborhood was misconstrued to be across the border in the West Bank, and as a result, he lost his resident status meaning no social security, no disability benefits, and no health coverage.  The fact that he paid his annual municipal taxes (even though they claimed he didn’t live in Jerusalem) and the fact that he had had medical coverage all his life didn’t change matters.  Indeed, his need for dialysis three times a week only made his case more severe.  A third story was about a man whose house was demolished by bulldozers sent by the city, but he was continuously being billed for city taxes on this same house! 

Using the technique of a story-teller who sits outside the Ministry of the Interior in East Jerusalem, the filmmakers are able to relate these stories, and more, with charm, compassion and humanity – virtues that should be requirements to become bureaucrats of the government of Israel! 

Jerusalem in Line is a documentary film (63 minutes), available directly from Amir Har-Gil.  Check out his website.

Sentimental Comedy

From the trailer, you might think that Maktub, directed by Oded Raz, is a low-brow comedy about crime and violence.  But surprisingly, it is a sentimental story about good deeds and helping make people’s wishes come true!

Our two main characters are thugs who make a living collecting protection money from Jerusalem restaurants.  After surviving a life-transforming event, they decide to change their lives and do good deeds, helping grant people their wishes.  They set out to read the notes that people put into the Kotel (Western Wall), and then to figure out how to help them.  They put on a fancy bar mitzvah party for a single Russian Mom who can’t otherwise afford it.  They help a fellow put sparks back into his marriage.  And they help a woman who is having trouble getting pregnant. 

The film draws attention to so many issues in our contemporary world, including immigrants, cross-dressers, underworld criminals, chef restaurants, parental responsibility and lingering superstition. 

Our two main characters (played by Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon) are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they are loyal friends, sentimental, and good-hearted.  As Sephardi stereotypes, they sprinkle their vocabulary with a lot of Arabic slang.  The title of the film, “maktub”, means "fate".  We can interpret it to mean that it was fate or destiny that the people who put prayers into the Kotel would be helped by these two guys!!

Maktub is entertaining, and the violence is over-the-top, making it mostly not realistic (which is certainly preferable!). I certainly enjoyed this film!

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).

New Film by Eran Kolirin

Beyond the Mountains and Hills, directed by Eran Kolirin, is the story of a dysfunctional family on the background of life in Jerusalem.

David spent 27 years as an officer in the Israeli army.  Having reached the grade of lieutenant-colonel, he is now retiring.  This film is the story of how he and his family cope with the changes.  David has to learn to adapt to the business world, to being at home with his family, and to learning to like the things that his wife likes.  But it turns out that things are not so easy.  His wife is a high school teacher who is attracted to one of her students; his daughter is involved with left-wing causes; his son is socially awkward; and he has his own frustrations. 

Every scene makes you stand back and feel emotional distance.  There is no warmth between the characters.  In fact, there is suspicion, stilted dialogue, and physical distance – all of which adds to the implied discomfort of the characters, and thence the discomfort of the viewer.  This is a not-so-subtle technique for criticizing dysfunctional elements of Israeli society.  The school teacher is ridiculed by her students.  One army officer is apparently screwing his unit’s young social worker.  The Arabs are seen as terrorists by the security services and the viewer can’t help but see them as potential rapists.

The most difficult criticism of Israel is in the story told by the motivational speaker at David’s attempted entry into the business world.  My interpretation of this story is that you have to do some tough things in a tough world.  In other words, Israel is located in a bad neighborhood, and as a result, is forced to make some difficult choices.  

There is just enough betrayal, revenge, illicit sex and personal frustration to make this an interesting story.  But something is missing in the delivery.  You probably remember that Eran Kolirin also made the Band’s Visit.  But this new film has none of the charm or in-depth characterization that you loved in the Band’s Visit.  

Religious Fanaticism and Animosity towards Christianity

A Quiet Heart,לב שקט מאד  , directed by Eitan Anner, is a new feature film about life in Jerusalem.  In this film, there is a clear criticism of religious fanaticism and the haredi animosity towards Christians and Christianity. 

Naomi is a pianist who leaves her parent’s home in Tel Aviv to come to Jerusalem – to get away from the pressures of being a highly talented pianist and her fear of imperfection, and in search of solitude.  She gets a job at the radio station archives and rents a run-down apartment in the haredi part of Kiryat Yovel, where she is surprised to find a child prodigy who sneaks into her apartment every morning to play the piano that has been left there by the previous tenant. 

Not so far away is the community of Ein Kerem, where she stumbles upon an organ being played in a monastery, and feels the solitude and quiet of the church atmosphere.  As a result, she begins to take lessons on the pipe organ from one of the Italian monks. 

The best part of the film is the main character herself (played by Ania Bukstein).  The rest of the film is slow-paced and disappointing.  The secondary characters are stiff and stereotyped, especially the woman leading the struggle against the haredim in Kiryat Yovel and also Naomi’s father who comes from Tel Aviv to rescue her from the perils of life in Jerusalem.

Take a look at the trailer.

Biblical Motifs

 It is interesting that so many films over the last decade in Israel have included major biblical motifs.  For example, three films that referred to the Akedah story (sacrifice of Isaac) were Footnote, My Father My Lord, and Trumpet in the Wadi.

In honor of the upcoming holiday of Rosh Hashanah, on which we read from the Torah about Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21), I have chosen to write about a feature film, Harmonia by Ori Sivan, based on that story.    

You might remember that the biblical story is about Abraham and Sarah and Hagar.  Abraham and Sarah are unable to have a child.  Together with Hagar, Abraham fathers Ishmael.  But after her own child, Isaac, is born, Sarah becomes jealous of Hagar and Ishmael and insists that Abraham send them away.

The blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) on this day is meant to remind us of the ram that was found in the bushes providing Abraham with an alternative sacrifice instead of his son, Isaac.  In a study session with Avrum Burg, however, I learned that the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah also reminds us of Hagar’s crying out for help in the desert, after she has been exiled together with her son, Ishmael. 

The contemporary version of the story, as seen in the film Harmonia, tells about three people in the Jerusalem Symphony Orhestra. Sarah is the harpist, her husband Abraham is the maestro, and Hagar from East Jerusalem is a young French horn player.  After Sarah and Hagar form a special friendship and Hagar is present at Sarah’s miscarriage, she offers to her friend to have a baby for her, together with her husband Abraham. 

[photo: courtesy of Inosan Productions]

Although the film is rather slow-paced, it is nevertheless a beautiful study of three people, and how they manage their relationships.  It is also about their two sons – Ishmael and Isaac – both of whom become accomplished musicians.  A concluding and dramatic musical encounter makes this film particularly poignant and relevant for today.

We, the children of Isaac and Ishmael, need to learn to live together in this supposedly "holy" land. This film hints at the importance of the descendants of these forefathers coming to grips with reality and learning to live in coexistence.

Harmonia is available from Go2Films. 

Religious Fanaticism

The Women’s Balcony is a debut film by Emil Ben Shimon, about the dangers of religious fanaticism.  This is a charming and joyous story of a small Sephardi synagogue in Jerusalem, where the women are an integral part of the religious community.  This is a tolerant community, led by a wise and understanding rabbi, who offers a moderate brand of orthodoxy.  One Shabbat morning during a bar mitzvah, the women’s balcony collapses.  When the dust clears, it becomes apparent that the rebbetzin has been badly hurt and, as a result, the rabbi falls into a state of confusion and despair.  The community becomes paralyzed at the prospect of rebuilding their synagogue, especially without the leadership of their beloved rabbi. 

  

Along comes a charismatic, young rabbi who steps in and offers to takes charge.  He immediately sets his hand to getting permits and renovating the synagogue.  His renovation, however, does not include the rebuilding of the women’s balcony.  He also makes additional changes -- he convinces the men that their wives must be modestly dressed and must cover their heads.  This causes a rift among the women – some accept this and others refuse to.

The women decide to take matters into their own hands and they begin a fundraising campaign to rebuild their balcony inside the synagogue. They are a strong part of the community and the new rabbi’s mistake is that he tries to brush their needs aside.

The film includes wonderful characters – both the men and the women.  There is the owner of a spice shop in the souk and his smart and loving wife.  Then there is the younger generation – a woman involved in a budding romance with one of the charismatic rabbi’s yeshiva students, who himself begins to realize that his rabbi is willing to compromise his ethical standards, all for the advancement of halacha (Jewish law).   

The Women’s Balcony is a fast-paced film, full of quirky characters, lots of good food, all set on the backdrop of the winding alleyways of the old neighborhoods of Jewish Jerusalem -- a film about the empowerment of women and about fighting back against religious extremism.  The film is available from United King.

Abulele - a new children's film

I went to a children's movie yesterday at a local movie theater and I enjoyed the "coming attractions" for upcoming children's films -- Steven Spielberg's animated The BFG (The Big Friendly Giant), an animation  by the team that made Shrek, and more.  

But most important, I loved the values and messages of the film that I saw, Abulele by Yoni Geva.  It's about the importance of bravery, friendship and standing up for what you believe.

This is a film filled with tension about a 10-year-old boy named Adam who lives in Givat Massua, a neighborhood in western Jerusalem.  Adam lost his big brother in a car accident a year ago and is carrying around a burden of guilt.  His loneliness, together with his capacity for facing his fears, lead him to be capable of believing in a large furry monster as his closest friend.  Most others cannot see the monster and if they do they are terrified of him.  His neighbor, a girl from his class, however, is also particularly vulnerable -- and so she can see and appreciate the monster and they band together to fight to protect him.

Adam learns from the Arab janitor in his school (played by Makram Khoury) about Abulele, ancient monsters of the night who come out to scare little children.  This is the monster who will come and get you if you're not a good little boy or girl.  But Adam eventually discovers that the monster who is certainly big and scary can also be warm and fuzzy.

This is a fantasy film for children, but it's also about bereavement, divorce, bullying, and loneliness.  It's a film in which the viewer definitely believes in the existence of the monster, and doesn't understand why everyone doubts it.  I love the way the monster begins to help Adam with his problems -- by bullying the bullies, and by getting "even" with the overly zealous and somewhat cruel civics teacher.  

This is also a good guy/bad guy story with a SWAT team (Israeli security forces) which is supposed to be fighting the forces of evil, but here they are hunting Adam's Abulele.  So, who turns out to be more scary and dangerous -- your warm and fuzzy monster or the local SWAT team?  And don't be surprised that you will find yourself rooting for the warm and fuzzy monster!

Watch the trailer on youtube (Hebrew only). 

Abulele, the first film by filmmaker Yoni Geva, is available from United King Films.

A Tale of Love and Darkness

The gifted actress, Natalie Portman, has created her first film as a director/screenwriter.  The film opened last week in Israeli cinemas.

A Tale of Love and Darkness, which was screened at Cannes (out of competition), is based on the autobiographical book by Amos Oz about his growing up in Jerusalem during the end of the British Mandatory period and the early years of the state.  The film is mostly about Amos, the young boy, and his relationship with his parents.  His father was a staid librarian.  In contrast, his mother was a lonely woman, a bit of a romantic, searching for the elements that she had imagined when she came to Palestine from Poland -- beauty, passion, hard-work and bravery.  

The film is a creative adaptation of the Amos Oz book, including dramatized dreams and visions which are stories told by the boy's mother.  And it also shows some wonderful re-enactments of Jerusalem scenes of that period.  However, it is a bit disappointing in that it only provides superficial historical context of the period and what was going on at that time.   

The Ha'aretz newspaper film critic, Uri Klein, called the film "dreary" in his review.  It is true that the film is slow-paced and perhaps does not offer enough emotional depth.  However, the "dreariness" is an authentic reflection of their poverty-stricken lives in Jerusalem at that time -- something that helps us understand the little boy's mother's loneliness and melancholia.  The film is a unique literary adaptation, a period piece.  The filmmaker has chosen to use voice-over as the narrative voice that represents the author today, and it is quite hard-hitting.  

The film is only a partial adaptation of the Amos Oz book.  Portman has decided to focus mostly on the boy and his mother, leaving out much of the lauded autobiography.  But a literary adaptation cannot be expected to cover everything from the book that it is dramatizing.  More important is the question about whether or not it interprets with depth and creativity the material that it chooses to portray.  And I would say that it certainly accomplishes this!