America, directed by Ofir Raul Graizer opened this past week at the Jerusalem Film Festival. His previous film, The Cakemaker, has also been reviewed on this blog. America is a bittersweet story about friendship, life and death, issues of identity, and the healing power of swimming, flowers, food and love.
Eli is living in Chicago, working at a swim club where he teaches young kids. When he learns of his father’s death, he returns to Israel to close up details, especially the house that belonged to his family. While there, he reconnects with his old friend, Yotam, and meets Yotam’s fiancé, Iris, who together run a beautiful flower shop. They find their lives changed forever by their encounter with Eli.
The story develops in chapters. We learn about Eli’s father, a senior police officer, who beat his wife and son. We also learn about Yotam’s family, especially his mother who has never found it in her heart to accept Iris, perhaps because of her Ethiopian background. Iris is a compelling character, grappling with the tragedy in her life. One of her formative experiences is that she ran away from her own home in Beersheba when she was 16 years-old because the religious atmosphere was stifling.
The actress playing the part of Iris, won a prize for acting at the Jerusalem Film Festival this past week. According to the judges' comments, her prize was for her strong and natural screen presence.
When Yotam and Eli go for a hike to
their secret stream and waterfall, there is a terrible accident and suddenly
things change forever.
The film offers stunning photography and amazing use
of flowers, plants and color -- from the desert shots to the flower shop,
from the waterfall to the colorfully painted walls of Iris’ apartment. In fact, color is used as a running
commentary -- for example a sign of rebirth and hope is seen when the
desert hills are covered with a pale green fuzz which appears every year after
the winter rains. The script draws attention to color when Iris says that she
likes the kitchen in Eli’s parents' home because the wall tiles are bright red,
something from the 1970s! She goes on to say that Israeli homes are
usually just painted white. I interpreted this to mean -- Israeli films, not
just kitchens, are usually so black and white, devoid of color and
design. But in this film, color is used wonderfully!
This is a story of real people, three friends – one from an abusive family, one from a religious family, and the third is the glue holding them together.
America (2022, 127 minutes) was produced by Laila Films.
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