A Coming-of-Age Film

 An adolescent boy, a recent Ukrainian immigrant mother, and a Chabad shaliach, are all in the same room...  This could be the beginning of a great joke!

Rather, it is the beginning of a compelling film, More than I Deserve, directed by Pini Tavger.  The film tells the story of a single mother, recently arrived from the Ukraine, her adolescent son and their encounter with a Chabad representative. All three main characters are complex characters who offer authentic portrayals. 

Tamara and her son, Pinchas, live in Haifa, in a shabby apartment.  Tamara works as a night cleaning lady in the hospital and she is lonely, depressed, poorly paid, and drinks too much.  She is having an affair with a married man, whom she is pressing to leave his wife.  We know the chances of that happening.

Pinchas is a bit of an outcast with the other boys in his grade. When he sees that they are all going for bar mitzvah lessons with the Chabad representative in the neighborhood, he wants to be part of that.  His mother, at first, is adamantly opposed to anything having to do with Chabad and forbids her son to participate.  Pinchas, however, begins lessons behind her back, and eventually his Chabad teacher, Shimon, becomes an integral part of their lives. 

The presence of Shimon, who himself had been a drug addict before Chabad saved him, changes things for the family.  He becomes close to Pinchas, sort of a father replacement, and eventually becomes close to Tamara too. 

The title of the film refers to something Shimon says to Tamara when she asks him why he’s not married, after all, he is a religious man and not so young.  He explains about the drug addiction in his past, and he says, “I want more than I deserve,” referring to the fact that he is damaged goods and they are setting him up with girls who are also apparently not so perfect. 

There is an inherent criticism of Chabad due to its tradition of arranged marriages, even in this day and age, and Shimon himself is caught up in his rabbi’s insistence that he marry the girl who has been chosen for him. 

More than I Deserve premiered at the 2021 Jerusalem Film Festival where it won the prize for best screenplay. The filmmaker should be congratulated for his nuanced look at the hardships facing new immigrants.

A Powerful new Documentary Wins the Prize at the Jerusalem Film Festival

To Cure Longing, prizewinning documentary film by Artyom Dubitski, is about searching for one’s roots and discovering a complex web of family relations. 

The film is about the filmmaker’s own family.  His father, Lev, was from Russia and his mother from Ukraine.  They made Aliyah with Artyom as a young boy.  In Israel, they were accompanied by Lev’s father and his step-mother.  But Artyom, as a young man, never understood why they were apparently estranged from his father’s birth mother.  What happened to the family? 

Suddenly, Lev asks his son to accompany him on a journey to the Ural region of Russia to visit his other grandmother. This meeting with a wonderful woman, who says that she “always loved him even from a distance,” provides him with a window to the traumas of the past.  It also brings out emotions in his father, a man who is usually so inarticulate and inexpressive.

I liked this film because the filmmaker’s father (usually unable to express his emotions, talking about the little things like the artwork on the door or the building materials used for putting up the housing projects) develops and becomes a character that we really find compelling. Although he is a simple guy, our hearts go out to him for all the years that he lost in knowing his lovely mother, who lives so far away.

The film won the award for best documentary at the Jerusalem Film Festival this past week.  According to the judges’ comments, “the filmmaker himself holds the camera and directs sensitive conversations, creating powerful moments which can be seen as if from a Chekhov play”!

To Cure Longing (documentary, 65 minutes) was made with assistance from the Gesher Multi-cultural Film Fund, and I am proud to say that I sit on the board of this fund.

Watch the trailer.

More than a standard portrait of a woman war vet

The War of Raya Sinitsina, debut documentary film by Efim Graboy, is a film about how the horrors of war stay with you all your life.  It is the study of a feisty and quirky woman, Raya, well over the age of 90, who is living with her memories of the past, her loneliness, her fear of dying, her dreams and her fear of being forgotten. 

Raya is an immigrant from the FSU, active in a group of World War II Russian vets, who suffers true sadness as members of the group are growing older and their numbers dwindle. She talks about the period of the siege of Leningrad as if it were yesterday, the memories still vivid in her mind.  Over the course of the production of the film, she builds a strong relationship with the filmmaker – and with the film viewer!

On the one hand, this is a look at the banality of her life and her everyday routine.  On the other hand, there is nothing standard about this film!  It is more than a documentary film about a woman war vet.  It also combines elements of an art film, with a striking portrayal of a remarkable woman.  Raya compares herself to a flower which is wilting, trying to remain true to herself, even though her petals are drying up.  Quite evocative!

The War of Raya Sinitsina (documentary, 2020, 88 minutes) was a prizewinner at last year’s DocAviv festival and is available from Yahaly Gat, the producer, at Muse productions --  muse.prod1@gmail.com

On the Periphery of Society

Here and Now, directed by Roman Shumunov, is a sentimental and dark drama about Russian immigrants living in the slums of Ashdod.  Our four young heroes are burdened with trying to support themselves and their families and, at the same time, learning to adapt to Israeli life.  They are serious rappers and are dreaming of participating in an upcoming music festival. 

There are four tragic stories -- Andrei’s father has been hospitalized for a long period and he is left holding the bag, paying the mortgage and taking care of his little sister.  Things are not so easy and Andrei gets deep into debt.  Things seem to be spiraling out of control when his sister complains about school, they get harassed by the police for loitering on the streets at night, and he loses his job unloading crates at the port.  When the school social worker threatens to take his sister away and the bank threatens to foreclose on the apartment, Andrei realizes that he has to do something drastic to get himself out of this situation.

One of his friends is apparently homeless and misses his mother back in Georgia.  Another is living with the terrible memory of his sister being raped and murdered.  A fourth has gotten himself involved with the Russian mob. 

The film is a bit preachy and the acting leaves something to be desired. The best part is the rap music – although there wasn’t enough of it -- and the lyrics that clearly express the frustrations and humiliations of being a new immigrant young man on the periphery of Israeli society.

Here and Now is available from Go2Film and Laila Films. 

Break-dancing

Break-dancing is a fascinating form of creative expression for young men.  In the film, Babylon Dreamers, directed by Roman Shumunov, we meet a group of break-dancers, living in Ashdod, immigrants from the FSU.  Their world is one of poverty, family crises, and alienation from the surrounding society. 

The film follows them as they go through rigorous training, win a nation-wide breakdance competition, and travel to a European competition in Germany.  There are some exciting and talented scenes of dancing, mixed with some very difficult family stories.

We get to know the dancers -- “Mixer” works at the port.  In the afternoons, he teaches young boys to do break-dancing.  His Mom is dysfunctional and he is trying very hard to take care of his younger siblings.  “Potter”, who is in the army and living at home with his mom, must undergo knee surgery.

Babylon Dreamers (90 minutes, documentary) offers a compelling look at a social group which has found itself on the periphery of Israeli society.  The film is available from JMT Films.

A Portrait of the Working Class

Super Women is a documentary film, directed by Yael Kipper and Ronen Zaretzky, about hard-working cashiers in a local supermarket.  It's difficult work and there is a lot of pressure on them.  They have to smile at the customers, make eye contact, push the products that are on special, and keep the lines moving.  All of this, for barely a living wage. 

 

Yulia is a 30-year-old single mom, a recent Russian immigrant, who is having terrible trouble making ends meet, having trouble "finishing the month" as the saying goes in Israel.  Even though she is a non-Jewish Israeli, her son is having a brit, but she has no money to give him a bar mitzvah.  Her friend Maya was a professional woman in Russia, but now she is 60-years-old, burdened with a mortgage and loans, and works as a cashier.  A woman who cares about how she looks, taking care with her make-up and her hair, Maya is bitter about her decline in status in the workplace.  But at least she and her husband are getting by.  Nella, the head cashier, is obviously slightly better paid and she tries to help Yulia with money.  But Yulia has her pride and only lets Nella help her by assigning her more hours in the work schedule.

In follow-up to the social protests of a few years ago, this film provides a glimpse at the working class. A beautifully photographed portrait, we are given an up-close and personal look at a group of women, most of them Russian immigrants, who represent a class of society which is underpaid, overworked and barely appreciated.

The film won two awards at DOCAVIV 2013 --
Doc Aviv 2013/Special Jury MentionJury Statement: "The Special Jury Mention goes to a film that opens our eyes to a world we visit every day without seeing, bringing characters to life with respect and generosity."
Doc Aviv 2013/Best Cinematography Award (Avigail Sperber)
Jury Statement: "For sensitively capturing the drama of its characters' inner worlds."

The film Super Women (documentary, 2013, 76 minutes) is available from JMT Films.

Boxing

White Panther (directed by Dani Reisfeld) is a feature film filled with tension and drama, and also lots of boxing.  It is interesting that in many films we have seen how sports, and boxing specifically, can be a method to take a youngster out of the slums and set him on a different path.  Here, we see the same thing, set against the background of Russian immigrants living in Tiberias.  

Following the large immigration of Jews from the Former Soviet Union in the 1990s, most of the immigrants acclimated and became integrated into Israeli society.  However, there were those who could not find their place here, and were very resentful of the discrimination that they encountered, who closed themselves into their own societies and own neighborhoods.  This is the story of a gang of Russian hooligans, working for the Russian mob, who hate everything about Israeli society due to the fact that they have not been able to  find their place within it. 

Alex's family is falling apart.  He is the teenage son of Russian immigrants and already has a police record.   His father was killed in action during the intifada and his older brother, his replacement father figure, is  trying to get him involved in a gang of hooligans.  But, a local cop (of Moroccan background) takes notice and gives Alex a chance to follow his dream and become a boxing champion, just like his father.  

There is forbidden love -- between Alex and the cop's daughter -- and there is a very strong family element -- Alex is very connected to his mother, who, although unable to get up from her sickbed, is trying desperately to protect Alex from following in the footsteps of his big brother. 

 The film portrays shocking hatred between ethnic groups -- terrible discrimination that is shown against the Russian youngsters by native-born Israelis -- and a surprising amount of violence and crime in the slums of Tiberias. The cop (played by Zev Revach) -- who also becomes a father figure to Alex -- talks about how he himself experienced  discrimination as a Moroccan immigrant when he came to this country, just as Alex and his friends are experiencing discrimination today.   (Not exactly a subtle script element since I felt this parallel should have been understood by the viewer and did not need to be explained -- especially since the title of the film refers to the fact that the Moroccans were called Black Panthers back in the 1970s and 1980s when they were organizing against the widespread discrimination that they encountered.)

Although it is a bit shocking to see this underbelly of Israeli society, I still thought the pacing and tension and drama were superb and that White Panther, albeit a tough film, is a film not to be missed.  It is available from Israeli Films

Through My Eyes – Holy Helena

Through My Eyes - Stories by Galilee Youths is a new personal and authentic documentary series, consisting of 10 chapters made by Arab and Jewish teens in the Galilee, each telling his own story. The producers gave young people a camera and the accompaniment of a filmmaking advisor, to document their own lives, dreams and problems.

The chapter, Holy Helena, which premiered at the DOCAVIV festival this week, is created by Helena Wulf in which she tells her own story, with the coaching and assistance of Micha Livne as the advisor. At the premiere screening at DOCAVIV (May 11,2010), Michal Livne described this as a special genre. "It's empowering at the same time that it helped her overcome issues. It pushes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking and it helped Helena grapple with her own life."

Helena is a student at a boarding school in Carmiel. She's the oldest child in her immigrant family of 8 kids and there are 5 of them at the boarding school. She is the big sister, taking care of all of them, sort of like a mother hen. On weekends, they go home to their Mom in Nahariya, but she's not very loving and doesn't seem to be a real stakeholder in their lives. Helena is a very strong figure and a very courageous young woman, not afraid to expose her frustrations. Perhaps her willingness to tell her own story and discuss her problems is her own mechanism in helping herself to cope.

The film is made with great drama, intimacy, pacing and a real climax. Helena herself came to the screening and told us that she's currently serving in the army.

The film series is available from Profile Productions Ltd.
l.m@orange.net.il

Tarab

Tarab: A Journey in Search of Memory and Identity in Two Parts, directed by Boris Maftsir, is a compelling and in-depth documentary film about our cultural identities. It provides a wealth of fascinating material dealing with issues of Arab culture, music and Umm Kulthum, combined with the story of refuseniks from the Former Soviet Union. The film takes us on a journey and provides a cultural dialogue and encounter between the renowned author, Eli Amir (Scapegoat), and the filmmaker, Boris Maftsir, between Jews from Muslim lands and Jews from the FSU.

Part I is about Eli Amir, originally Fuad Elias, who came from Bagdad at the age of 12 and was sent to school at Mishmar HaEmek (which later became the setting for his book). This part of the film is about his memories of the years he spent at the kibbutz school, his analysis of the role and depth that cultural roots play in one's life, and mostly about Tarab – the euphoria or ecstasy of Arab music. It is interesting to note that an Arab singer is called a mutreb – note the root of the word -- a person who causes you to feel the tarab.

Eli Amir talks honestly about Arab culture and how it was negated by Israeli Ashkenazi culture, how the new immigrants were made to feel inferior. Does the predominant Israeli culture look upon Arab culture in a patronizing way, even today?

Eli Amir is obsessed with issues dealing with cultural identity, the clash or border between cultures, and the importance of culture in one's life. In the third book of the trilogy that begins with Scapegoat, he clearly deals with the border or line between different cultures in a literary fashion. The story is about Nuri, the hero from Scapegoat, now an officer in the Israeli army, who meets Jasmine, a Palestinian young woman in post-Six Day War Jerusalem. Jasmine wouldn't have crossed into Western Jerusalem, therefore, the author chooses the luxurious American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem as a setting for their encounter.

Eli and Boris go together to visit a commercial center in Ashdod, where all of the signs on the shops are in Russian. Eli's thesis is that this aliyah was not made to feel inferior, as was the aliyah from Muslim lands, and you can see it expressed in how proud they are of their culture – food, music, literature and language. It is also evident in how well they have been absorbed into their professions.

Part II – Eli's story has caused Boris to return to Riga to look for his past. He talks about the family he lost in the Shoah. Also about his daughter, Orit, who has become very connected to Umm Kulthum and her music, and this expresses itself through her work as a belly dancer. Boris also talks about his youth in Riga, and how he was arrested by the KGB and spent his first year of marriage in a KGB prison.

Boris visits Sylvia Zalmanson, also from Riga, who bravely participated in the Leningrad hijacking. She remembers how her group of friends felt that their lives were of no value if they didn't take a big risk to immigrate to Israel. As a result of her role in this hijacking, she sat in prison for four years, before being allowed to emigrate. After a professional life at Israel Aircraft Industries, today she is a successful and expressive artist.

This is a film of surprising depth and insight, providing a rich experience into two different cultural worlds. Tarab (2009, 78 minutes) is available from Ruth Diskin Films.

DOCAVIV

The DOCAVIV film festival, currently taking place at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, offers a wonderful smorgasbord of documentary films including a variety of styles and surprisingly diverse subjects. Last night, we saw a film called The City of the Dead (2009, 62 minutes, in Arabic) directed by Sergio Trefaut (Portugal/Egypt/Spain) about the literally thousands and thousands of Egyptians who live in the huge cemetery of Cairo. The film featured numerous quirky characters who have learned to deal with the contrasts – weddings and funerals – of this dusty and poverty-stricken existence.

We also attended the premiere screening of an Israeli documentary about Israeli education, focusing on a Jerusalem elementary schoolteacher. The film, Teacher Irena (2010, 52 minutes), directed by Itamar Chen, tells the story of Irena and follows her and her third grade class in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem throughout one entire school year.

Irena, a Russian immigrant teacher, is a lonely single mother, struggling to make a living. She is a motivated teacher and believes strongly that her task is not only to teach the children reading and writing – which she does with tremendous success. She also believes in imbibing a sense of mutual respect, self-confidence and self-discipline. She helps the children with their problems at home, raises the bar on the demands that can be required, and the children fulfill her expectations. Irena is an old-fashioned schoolteacher, the kind who believes in giving all that she's got.

The film includes some memorable moments and a mountain of material concerning educational methods and disciplinary issues.

Distribution information on the film, Teacher Irena, is available from one of the producers, Saar Yogev at saar-yo@jcsproductions.co.il

Five Hours from Paris

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to New York City and had the opportunity to view a recent Israeli feature film on the El Al flight -- Five Hours from Paris, by first-time feature film director Leon Prudovsky, a low-keyed yet complex romance. The story is aboutYigal, a divorced taxi-driver who remains in close contact with his ex-wife and her new husband in order to be close to his son. His personal dream is to visit Paris, but he is terrified of flying.

Picking up his son from afternoon choir practice, Yigal slowly and tentatively becomes emotionally involved with the music teacher, an immigrant from Russia. At first glance, the two seem to be from different worlds. Yigal is an uneducated cab driver and the music teacher seems to be more worldly and educated. Nonetheless, they enjoy spending time together and a gentle and sweet relationship develops between the two, which slowly becomes more complex as the two become emotionally involved.

Check out this lovely story of the complexities of a new attraction on youtube. The film is available from Go2Films.

The Secret of My Success

Yolki Palki, directed by Alex Gentelev (2007), is a documentary about the Russian community in Israel today -- their successes and their personal stories. The film is filled with interesting people who talk about their memories of Russia, the anti-Israel lessons, and the reasons that they left. They look back with humor on the difficulties of their aliyah and laugh at their mistakes in Hebrew. They talk about their children and the fact that they were the motivating factor in their leaving Russia and coming to Israel.

The filmmaker goes on a personal journey meeting and interviewing others who were on the plane with him when he made aliyah from Moscow to Tel Aviv in the early 1990s. He goes to Kibbutz Beit Hashita to find the man who sat in front of him on the plane. Although he was an engineer, on the kibbutz he has been taught to work in the barn, milking the cows. His wife works in the old age home of the kibbutz. Their teenage son, who remembers the stigma of being a new immigrant child growing up on the kibbutz, says he's more comfortable now in Hebrew than in Russian and he is hoping to be drafted into the airforce.

Also on their plane was Pasha -- a youngster with a violin. While still in Kiev, he auditioned for the Jerusalem Academy of Music and that's how he got here. He is a talented violin player with a group called Yolki Palki which means "Oy va Voy" and in order to make ends meet, he works as a butcher.

Dina Rubina is an author whose books have been published in the millions in Russian – but not translated into Hebrew. Her daughter, who has become religious, has sadly forgotten much of her Russian and is unable to read her mother's books.

Alexei works in Tel Aviv and his family lives in Carmiel. His wife is unhappy in her work and wishes she could be an artist. But he is more successful at compromising and finding happiness. He recalls that they decided to leave the USSR when a drunken doctor messed up the birth of their first child and they lost the baby. He doesn't like it when people say "your children will do fine." What about me, he asks. My life isn't over yet! He worked hard to learn Hebrew, get a job and become Israeli. Today, he visits wounded soldiers at their homes, and his wife and family are moving closer to his work in Tel Aviv.

These are the stories of success -- they came with a work ethic, willing to do whatever it takes to make a go of it, and even though their children might have suffered as new immigrant kids, today they fit in.

Yolki Palki is in Russian, available with English or Hebrew subtitles (two versions: 2 parts -- 104 minutes or one film at 91 minutes) from Eden Productions.