Come Closer by Tom Nesher

Come Closer is the award-winning debut film of Tom Nesher, the daughter of well-known filmmaker Avi Nesher.  Six years ago, the Nesher family suffered a terrible tragedy when the son was killed in a car accident. This is a personal film which offers Tom Nesher’s expression of some of the feelings of having lost her brother at that time.While the film's narrative is based on this tragedy, it is not an autobiographical film but rather a work of fiction.

The film is a psychological study of two women coping with enormous loss, which is a tremendously appropriate subject for Israeli audiences especially this year.

Eden and Nati, brother and older sister, are very close.  On Nati’s birthday, Eden has him kidnapped and brought to the beach where they have an all-night party with music, drinking and drugs.  Unbeknownst to Eden, Nati decides to slip away to see his secret girlfriend, Maya. On the way, Nati is killed in a terrible early morning accident, and Eden’s world is turned upside down.  She becomes a difficult personality -- edgy, reckless, aggressive, and completely self-centered. 

Noticing the young Maya at the funeral, Eden sets out to find her, to ostensibly befriend her, and to express her anger, feelings of betrayal and loss. Maya is not so easily shocked.  She too has much to say to Eden.  In grappling with the death of the person they each loved, a strange bond is created between the two.

The film includes a bit too many clichéd scenes that we have seen in so many other Israeli films – a nod to Holocaust education (which was in bad taste), an unnecessary pissing scene (but this time it’s a girl pissing off the back of a truck), lots of clubbing and drinking, and a trip to the stunning beaches of Sinai.  Nevertheless, the film is innovative in its own way -- through the provocative elements, the use of great music, and the way that the two women were coping with their grief and were trying to keep the memory of Nati alive through their complex relationship with each other.

Come Closer won the award for Best Debut film at the Jerusalem Film Festival this past July.  And more recently, it won top honors at the Ophir Awards– taking prizes for both best director and best film!