Some Notes on the Current Situation by Eran Kolirin

Some Notes on the Current Situation, directed by Eran Kolirin (The Band’s Visit), comprised of a series of six surreal episodes, is a film about our existential condition. 

I had the opportunity to see this film at the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, which is taking place during this week of Chanukah. Following the screening, Eran Kolirin talked about the fact that the film is purposefully abstract, similarly, he said, nothing is understood in today’s world.  He explained that he was invited to work with a group of student actors at the Kibbutz Seminar and was given a minimal budget.  This series of episodes are the edited culmination of the exercises that this class of talented actors performed, under his direction. (He also wrote the script.)

The first episode is about how we are forced to bang our heads against the wall, and how everything is upside down and unclear. It concludes with people shouting “Now, now”, which is a hard-hitting reminder of all those Saturday night demonstrations when we shouted for the return of the hostages “now”!  The second episode, undoubtedly the most linear, shows a group of soldiers in military formation, doing theater exercises in preparation for the production of  a film for international streaming.  What is their film about, shouts the young commander.  The occupation, social disparity, apartheid, the inequity of the JNF-controlled lands – but do not despair, we have nice people here.  When asked about this episode, Kolirin explained that it was the most clear-cut but that was also a drawback because he prefers things to be more abstract and therefore, perhaps, more complex and unclear.

In another episode, a man is driving a truck filled with snow, getting nowhere, just driving ahead. His wife asks him, are you in a crisis – after all, who isn’t? They are on their way to deliver the snow to a film production that deals with who or what are human beings.

Even though Kolirin felt that he was directing a very abstract film which provided him with a tremendous sense of artistic freedom, his metaphors were hard-hitting and sometimes devastating.  The film is very cynical and satirical but at the same time is very critical of Israeli society, which is going nowhere fast, if not backwards. The government is pursuing occupation and apartheid, and has social policies which lead to greater inequity. Not only that, so much of life here has become absurd, and our government and Knesset have become theater of the absurd. Our leaders spout nonsense and spin all the time, and they often make no sense.

This is a serious film made by a very thoughtful and experienced Israeli filmmaker. While it is artistic and rather vague, it nevertheless raises profound existential questions: who are we as human beings and what kind of society have we become?

At this event, Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir) interviewed Eran Kolirin on the stage, and shared some insights from his own projects. He spoke about the fact that cinema as an art form will have a very difficult time competing with the 200,000 clips from cellphones – both Hamas and Israeli – that were shot and distributed via social media on October 7^th, making it very difficult to produce an Israeli feature film about the events of October 7^th. He wondered aloud, where will Israeli cinema go from here?

 

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.