Presented in the Bright Future Premieres programme section of IFFR 2015 as one of the nominees for the FIPRESCI prize of the festival, The Man in the Wall is a tense, excellently paced psychological drama with fleshed out characters that seem pulled on-screen directly from life itself. Although purportedly not (auto)biographical, the story nonetheless feels very personal.
The institution of marriage, and therefore divorce, in Israel is regulated exclusively religiously, with rabbinical consent needed to sanction both marriage and divorce. In Fill the Void, rabbinical authorisation is first denied, then granted to an arranged marriage, while Gett tracks a woman’s Kafkaesque divorce proceedings as the years go by. Premiering at the Venice …
Bethlehem Written by Ali Wakad and Yuval Adler Directed by Yuval Adler Israel, 2013 The final shot of the new Israeli film Bethlehem, one of last year’s nominees for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar, depicts two characters lying or sitting on the ground in a deserted field, a car behind them; in the distance, there’s …
Omar Written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad Palestine, 2013 Within its first scene, Omar recalls the romantic actions of Shakespeare’s Romeo, as our title character climbs up one wall and jumps down another, both via rope, to approach the shy and reserved girl he’s got his eyes on. But as star-crossed as these lovers may be, …
The chronic, seemingly unsolvable Israeli/Palestinian conflict provides the perfect backdrop for narrative storytelling, as all the pieces are in place for a tense, personalized historical rendering. In fact, two other films this year have already addressed the issue: The Attack, from Lebanese director Ziad Douerir, and Zaytoun, from Israeli director Eran Riklis; each look at the personal toll caused by war. Inherently polemical discourse rarely makes much of an impact on the opposing side, and while bridge-gapping is sometime present in films dealing with this Middle Eastern crisis, it’s understandable when a more hardened approach is taken. Such is the case with Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar, a well-made Palestinian film that presents the experience with little interest in broaching peaceful dialogue
Melting Away Written and directed by Doron Eran Israel, 2011 It’s rare to see something you’ve never seen before, and even rarer to see something that you categorically have. Doron Eran’s Melting Away, a story about a family rocked by cancer and transexualism, falls into the class of the latter. Schmaltzy, saccharine, and emotionally manipulative, …
Off-White Lies Directed by Maya Kenig Written by Maya Kenig and Dana Diment Israel/France, 2011 As a parent, you can’t prepare the world for your children; the best you can do is prepare your children for the world. So what happens when a homeless, estranged father readopts his teenage daughter amongst the backdrop of a …
Naomi Directed by Eitan Tzur Written by Edna Mazia Israel/France, 2010 If prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, then tales of infidelity must be one of the oldest forms of storytelling. From the bible to Nabokov, Adele’s entire discography to Adrian Lyne’s entire filmography, the devastating consequences of adulterous liaisons have provided ample inspiration for …
My Australia Written and directed by Ami Drozd Israel/Poland, 2011 In the social and economic fallout that followed World War 2, ten-year old Tadek and his older brother Andrzej become victims of the decaying zeitgeist in post-war Poland. They benightedly join a gang of hooligans with neo-Nazi attitudes, but after being arrested for beating up …
Miss Judy Directed by Eyal Tavor Israel, 2011 Judy Feld Carr, third from the right, with her family Judy Feld Carr is a Toronto housewife, mother of six. She is a musicologist and a president at her local synagogue. But what many people may not know is that, for 28 years, she’s been helping Syrian …
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea Directed by Thierry Binisti Written by Thierry Binisti and Valérie Zenatti France/Canada/Israel, 2011 Friends who want to stay friends don’t discuss religion or politics. Contentious and divisive, discussions about these hot topic issues tend to lead to fiery debates, with interlockers entrenched in their predisposed ideologies. Verbal disputes …
The Flat Directed by Arnon Goldfinger Israel, 2011 Following the death of his grandmother, Arnon Goldfinger and his family take it upon themselves to clear out her now abandoned Tel-Aviv flat. Wanting to annex the place of dilapidated memories, Goldfinger and his family, instead, discover documents that lead them on a journey that uncovers forbidden …
This Is Sodom Directed by Adam Sanderson and Muli Segev Written by Muli Segev, David Lifshitz and Asaf Shalmon Israel, 2010 At an arranged marriage, a Rabbi tries to break the ice by telling a joke. “Why was the first man the happiest?” he asks. No one answers. “Because he didn’t have a mother-in-law!” No …