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).