"World Cinema: Israel"

My book, "World Cinema: Israel" (originally published in 1996) is available from Amazon on "Kindle", with an in-depth chapter comparing and analyzing internationally acclaimed Israeli films up to 2010.

Want to see some of the best films of recent years? Just scroll down to "best films" to find listings of my recommendations.

amykronish@gmail.com

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

"Heart of Gold" - a quirky film about a woman struggling with abandonment issues

Heart of Gold לב זהב , directed by Efrat Corem, is a new Israeli feature film which premiered at this week’s Jerusalem Film Festival. 

Mali, is single in her 30s, living alone, working as a ticket inspector on buses in Ashkelon. She is a quirky character, and extremely charming and compelling.  She is bothered by young kids who aren’t respectful to their elders. Her brother, Shimon, whom she loves dearly, works for the prisons and she is troubled by his having left his wife and kids.  She has a lover, an older man who lives in her apartment building, obviously a bit of a father figure. One day, Mali finds an abandoned baby on one of the buses, and she takes him home.  As she is growing more and more attached to the little baby, her brother and her lover are both trying to convince her to bring him to the police.


When her mother appears on the scene, we realize that this is a story about Mali’s own abandonment by her father, whom she never knew, and by her mother, who left Mali and her brother to make it on their own, about 15 years ago. How can Mali even consider abandoning this child?

Heart of Gold is a wonderful story about a strong, struggling woman, the difficulties and issues in her past and present, and her quirkiness and uniqueness as an adult.  This is a complex film about abandonment, loneliness, working class poverty and family issues in Israeli society.  Highly recommended!

 

 

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