This charming, entertaining film, full of warm humor and sentiment, swept the recent Israeli Awards in almost every category. Three parallel stories of love unfold in Israel during the Gulf War with Iraq, as the people retreat into their homes and shelters to avoid the lethal scud attacks. Yana, a Russian immigrant abandoned by her husband, is pregnant and in debt, but when she moves into a flat with wedding photographer Eli and the two are forced into a sealed room from the fear of chemical weapons, sparks fly. At the same time, formal and businesslike Rosa finds love, while Alik and his wife learn the meaning of loving commitment and transform each other into better people.
Mona’s wedding day is slated to be one of the saddest days of her life. She knows that once she crosses the border between Israel and Syria to marry Syrian TV star Tallel, a man she has never even met, she will never be allowed back to her family in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Golan Heights. Her family must also contend with the clash between the traditional and the new, as Mona’s various family members unites to see her off. The Syrian Bride is a story about physical, mental and emotional borders, and the strength and will to cross them.
Based on director Amos Gitai’s own experiences as a member of a helicopter rescue crew during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this story is told from the perspective of Israeli soldiers. We are led by Weinraub and his friend Ruso on a day that begins with quiet city streets, but ends with death, destruction and devastation of both body and mind. Various scenes are awash in the surreal, as Weinraub’s head hangs out over a rescue helicopter’s open door, watching with tranquil desperation as the earth passes beneath, the overpowering whir of the blades creating a hypnotic state. It is not a traditional blood, guts and glory film. There are no battle scenes or glorious deaths; only the rescue crew trying to pick up the pieces.
Clara is a 7th grade Russian emigre to this Negev town and lives in a trailer on the edge of town. What makes Clara unique are her telekinetic powers, allowing her to predict the future. She can predict the answers to a math exam, the winning Lotto numbers, and even an earthquake! Yet she will lose her powers if she falls in love—and then she meets the anarchist rebel hunk at Golda Meir High School. She must choose between her powers and her true love, especially as an impending nuclear disaster approaches.
Based on a novel by Czech writers Pavel and Yelena Kohout.
This film is much more than just a beach movie; it depicts the struggle of individuals who are not ready to change and grow up. Gute (Uri Zohar) is an aging lifeguard, responsible for the Tel Aviv beach. With a few other eccentric characters, including his best friend Eli, he lives his life with no great goals or meaning. Pretty soon, he’ll get slapped by his superior, rejected by a beach hussy, and ridiculed by a couple of teenagers and a beloved whore. Only then will he understand that the world is moving on, with or without him.
This sharp, often hilarious, satire that became the most successful film in Israeli history, is about new immigrants Sallah and his family, who are left in a shack near their promised apartment and are abandoned for months. A Yemenite Jewish family that was flown to Israel during “Operation Magic Carpet”—a clandestine operation that flew 49,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel the year after the state was formed—is forced to move to a government settlement camp. The patriarch of the family, portrayed by Chaim Topol, tries to make money and get better housing, in a country that can barely provide for its own and is in the midst absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries. This hilarious portrayal of immigrants in Israel won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, putting Israel on the international film stage for the first time.
Alex is a thirteen-year-old boy who is about to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. Alex has typical Polish parents who work hard to make ends meet. On account of their difficult economic situation, they are compelled to share their apartment with a Persian tenant named Faruk that tries to fight his baldness by means of different creams. But when Alex falls in love with the new girl in his class, Mimi, his aunt Lola arrives in Israel from Poland to search for lost love. Alex falls for his aunt and she on her part gives him more than just maternal love. This film is notable for its careful reconstruction of the ’50s, known as the Austerity period in Israel.
This offbeat musical directed by Avi Nesher follows a dozen members of the military entertainment troupe, whose mission is to entertain the Israeli Army following the Six Day War in 1967. Although the performers are not at the front lines, they, too, suffer tensions, learning to get along, making and breaking romances—all while competing to become the best performer in the troupe and to receive coveted television coverage.
A notorious Casanova, Zidane happily leads a life unlike that of his two friends Omer and Uri who endure the agony of commitment—until a beautiful Colombian woman from Zidane’s past pulls him into the romantic fray. Now, as the three men attempt to decipher the mysteries of women, they’re forever reminded that love frequently offers up equal doses of happiness and misery in this lighthearted Israeli comedy.
