AICE ISRAELI FILM FESTIVAL 2008
The festival runs from 25-31 August in Sydney at the Palace Academy Twin Cinemas, and 1-7 September in Melbourne at Palace Cinemas: Como and Brighton Bay. Ten new and two previously seen films will be screened. Visit: www.aicec.org/2008/07c/index.php
Last updated 10 September, 2008.
THE BEETLE
This is a good example of a documentary that promises much more than it delivers. Instead of it being about the history of the favourite car of Hitler and the Nazi Party, the film becomes a personal journey about the filmmaker’s pregnant wife and his attempts to keep his rapidly aging vehicle. The film begins with the writer/director Yishai Orian explaining his love of the 40 year old Volkswagen (Car of the People) that he owns but is causing him mechanical and structural issues. He then proceeds to trace the origins of the car by meeting and interviewing the four previous owners, while at the same coping with his pregnant wife who wants him to get rid of the rust bucket. The disappointing aspects to this film are: that the history of the Beetle is dismissed in 5 minutes, that the whole film becomes a personal journey that seems scripted/rehearsed and quite phoney at times, and that there is little in the documentary that reveals anything much at all. Even the trip to Jordan is dismissed in favour of endless shots of garages where the filmmaker is seeking advice on how to save his beloved Beetle. By turns annoying and unilluminating, The Beetle is a very tedious road trip without any major insights, or indeed respect for what the film was supposed to be about. There must be a Jewish/Israeli filmmaker who could make a much more compelling documentary about the symbiotic relationship between the German car’s origins and its place in Israeli culture. (Peter Krausz)
JULIA MIA
A married filmmaker with a young son becomes obsessed with a woman he encounters who is very similar physically to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman leading to him making a film that revisits that film for his own lustful intent. This piece of self-indulgent whimsy from Yuval Granot becomes progressively less interesting and resonant as it goes along, especially as it juxtaposes his distancing from his wife (also a filmmaker who had previously collaborated on all his films) and his attraction to this young woman actress. The biggest surprise is that the film won best film at the Haifa Film Festival last year. One wonders how such a film snuck through the radar of film judges who surely must have seen through the disjointed narrative, the slavish repetition of the story, the artlessness of the character development and the obsessive nature of the main character that makes little sense apart from the blatantly lascivious. A curious film that fails to deliver at all levels. (Peter Krausz)
RAGE & GLORY and THE TROUPE
Avi Nesher, who directed the excellent opening night film The Secrets, has been given a mini-retrospective of two of his films that both deal with Israel at war from different time periods and perspectives.
The Troupe (1977), is set soon after the Six Day War in 1967, and explores the experiences of a military entertainment group providing much needed distractions for soldiers at the borders. The film became very popular soon after its release, despite the criticism it received in some quarters for its sardonic look at military procedures and the occasionally satiric view it took to rules and regulations as well as the hierarchy. The film combines some incisive observations of the younger and older members of this troupe, with some musical and comedy sequences presented to military personnel. The use of many traditional Israeli songs as well as some contemporary music is well integrated into this “show business meets the war” type narrative, a staple of many Hollywood films of the 1940s.
Rage & Glory(1985) is a much more serious affair as it examines the violent confrontations between the British and the Jewish freedom fighters in Palestine in the early 1940s. The film portrays the struggle that was apparent at that time to establish a Jewish homeland, and the attempts made by the British to keep all the warring parties at bay. The British are portrayed as almost as evil as the Nazi regime with scenes of torture and murder. Overall, this is a well-directed genre piece despite the variability in the quality of the acting, with a focus on the struggles to achieve Israeli control despite obstacles and double dealing on both sides. The print screened was around 15 minutes shorter than the original running time and indicated some more violent scenes may well have been omitted. The film itself has frequently been screened as a good example of the political struggle that led to the formation of the State of Israel. (Peter Krausz)
VASERMIL
This film is a prime example of cultural conflict in contemporary Israel and the way the youth are implacably involved in both the problem and the potential solution. The film focuses on three teenagers: an Israeli born lad whose work as a Pizza deliverer is jeopardized when his motorcycle is stolen; an Ethiopian whose dreams of being a professional soccer player may never eventuate; and a Russian boy whose abusive stepfather and domineering mother combined with his work as a courier for a drug dealer, lead to his own difficulties. What combines the three is soccer and eventually a local team provides them with an avenue of hope and positive experiences, but their own issues intrude into the game. Adopting a cinema verite approach, Mushon Salmona has crafted a compelling piece of dramatic cinema which is tightly edited and sympathetic to their plight. The film demonstrates the racist, cultural and social issues endemic in contemporary Israeli life as seen through the eyes of these teenagers, and pulls no punches in delivering outcomes for each of them. Another very good film in this festival. Highly recommended. (Peter Krausz)
FOUL GESTURE
A tightly constructed, escalating thriller, forms the narrative basis of this fine intense film written by Gal Zaid (a guest of the festival) and Ya’ackov Ayali, and directed by Tzahi Grad. Driving his surgeon wife and young son home from her work, home-based writer Michael (played by Zaid) finds himself stuck in the traffic. An impatient driver behind them audibly indicates his displeasure, which in turn means that Michael’s wife offers an obscene finger gesture in disgust. However the matter does not end there and the unhappy driver rams their car and tears off the passenger door. When this is reported to the Israeli police, their off-hand response indicates that Michael should forget about it and be thankful no-one was hurt. The driver of the car is actually a noted underworld Mafia type who is avoided by everyone, including the Police. Michael does not let the matter go, and with concerns over his wife and son, and in particular his own role in the relationship, matters begin to escalate to the point that violence may occur. The film follows this well constructed trajectory to its logical conclusion, although the actual ending may lead to some audience debate. Apparently another, darker ending was shot and then discarded, in favour of this version. Nonetheless this is a very good film, demonstrating an economy of writing, strong performances from all, including the young son, and a resonant political subtext about current Israeli life and politics. This film indicates the success in recent years of the Israeli Film Fund assisting good scripts and overseeing the production of a number of quality films. Highly recommended. (Peter Krausz)
THE SECRETS
The role of women in orthodox Jewish life forms the basis of this excellent opening film that delves into the spiritual, sexual and social aspects of a religious country. Highly regarded Israeli director Avi Nesher, has fashioned a compelling story that focuses on two young women and their journey into religious awakening and their own social destinies. Made as an Israeli/French co-production, and featuring Fanny Ardant as a dying woman who tries to find salvation via the nearby seminary and the two young women who are enrolled in an immersive religious course there. The purpose of this program is to allow young women, who in orthodox Jewish life are forbidden from taking important roles in a male-dominated society, the ability to express themselves and find their inner spirituality and outer voices. This combination of factors, and the encounter with the dying woman, lead to an explosive series of revelations that provide each of them with a catharsis leading to a better understanding of who they are and where they are going. This is a beautifully directed, highly personal film, all the more remarkable that it comes from a male filmmaker who astutely recognizes the issues women face in parts of contemporary Israel. The performances from the two young women (Michal Shtamler and Ania Bukstein) are superb and match the intensity of Ardant’s performance. A non-Jewish audience may not fully understand the rituals and social oppression that these women are caught up in, but the universality of the story and the emotional storyline will strike a chord. Location work is superb, as are the depictions of orthodox Jewish life, including the wedding rituals and the superb Klezmer music. A prime example of the excellence of contemporary Israeli cinema. Not to be missed. (Peter Krausz)
JUST LIKE YOUR DAD
The second French/Israeli co-production programmed for this festival turns out to be a satisfactory, if slight, film about the fraught relationship between a Tunisian Jew and his family in the 1970s and the crime lord with whom he becomes involved. Marco Carmel (previously a documentary filmmaker) has fashioned a hard-edged nostalgic film drama with echoes to his own childhood as revealed by the personal voice-over narrative that permeates the film. Richard Berry plays the French crime lord in Paris, which becomes the main setting for this film, that above all deals with the survival of the Tunisian’s family in a tough refugee environment where work is hard to find. The film focuses on his two sons and their disparate attitudes to what is going on around them, leading to a split between them. The younger son clearly represents the filmmaker, and hence the narrative focuses on seeing what is happening to his family through his eyes; a slight conceit as revealed by the closing sequence. Nevertheless, this is an entertaining and emotional film that delves into Jewish and Parisian life in the 1970s. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
THE DEBT
An on-going sub-genre in Jewish and Israeli cinema is World War 2, Nazism and the Holocaust, and the significant impact that had on a massive number of people. Assaf Bernstein’s psychological thriller delivers a twist to the usual tale by juxtaposing two time periods: the present day and the 1960s, in this fictionalized story based on real events. Mossad (Israeli Secret Service) agents hunted down a number of surviving Nazis in order that they be brought to trial for crimes against humanity, with Adolf Eichmann being a prime example. This story focuses on the fictional surgeon of Birkenau, one of the concentration camps, and his medical experiments on Jews that led to their deaths. We learn that in contemporary Ukraine he is still alive and one of the Mossad agents, now an older woman played by veteran Israeli actress Gila Almagor, is keen to seek retribution. As the story develops we learn about the situation in the 1960s when this arrest did not quite go to plan. The narrative is well constructed, tantalizing the audience with a strong air of mystery until the final sequence of the film. There have been other films that deal with similar stories, such as Walk on Water, Munich, etc, but this one stands apart for its psychological exploration and the mysterious nature of the way the plot develops. Hollywood is currently looking at turning this film into a major English language production. Highly Recommended. (Peter Krausz)