IFF ’11: When Israel Went Out

One of history’s greatest humanitarian rescue missions was planned and executed by the Mossad and the Israeli Defense Forces (with CIA support). In response growing hostility from the anti-Semitic Marxist Mengistu regime, thousands of Jewish Ethiopians, known as Falasha or Beta Israel, walked over one hundred twenty miles though unforgiving desert to the still hostile Sudan where secret IDF airlifts shuttled them to Israel. Three survivors of the long march, two Mossad veterans of the original Operation Moses, and a film crew retrace their journey in Meni Elias’s When Israel Went Out, produced by Micha Shagrir, a special guest of the 2011 Israel Film, where the documentary screens again next week.

The Biblical parallels of the Beta Israel trek are so obvious, they nearly pass unmentioned in the film, save for its title. Yet, many of the survivors and witnesses refer to the largely spontaneous migration as a calling. Of course, life is not perfect for the Falasha in Israel. Many Orthodox extremists continue to question the legitimacy of their Judaism. Yet, the three Falasha survivors returning to their roots are all adamantly naturalized Israelis. One even serves as a Colonel in the Israeli Air Force.

Mengistu might be gone, but it is still a dangerous journey, requiring armed retainers. It was probably also reassuring to have two ex-Mossad agents for company. Unfortunately, the film never really spends any time getting to know them or understanding their motives for joining this exhausting trip (though we can safely deduce a rather edifying sense of solidarity played a role).

While revisiting past homelands is a rather established convention of documentary filmmaking, WIWO works better than most, partly because there is still an element of risk at play (that Elias wisely chooses to downplay), but mainly due to the dramatic nature of the Falasha Israelis’ stories, which are largely unknown to American audiences.

WIWO provides a timely reminder Israel’s population is more diverse than the media typically represents. It is also a rather hopefully film, conveying the optimism of the naturalized Falasha in their new lives. An informative film produced under difficult circumstances by Elias, Shagrir, and their crew, it is definitely worth catching when it screens again next Monday (5/16) at the 25th Israel Film Festival in New York.

IFF ’11: Brothers

New Yorkers might find it hard to fathom, but Brooklyn is considered to be synonymous with conservative fundamentalism in Israel. By contrast, the Israeli leftists all dutifully perform their military service, while the Orthodox seek exemptions. This leads to profound conflict within Israeli society, at least according to Igaal Niddam’s Cain and Abel tale, Brothers (a.k.a. Dan and Aharon, trailer here), which screens during the 2011 Israel Film Festival in New York.

Obviously, Dan is secular. He works as a shepherd (seriously) on a kibbutz. Long estranged from his brother Aharon, he is a bit taken a back when he receives a letter announcing his imminent arrival in Israel. However, the real shock comes when Dan realizes the man in the Orthodox garb is his brother.

Aharon is a lawyer-rabbi from a Brooklyn yeshiva, a detail Niddam emphasizes repeatedly. Per his Orthodox faith, Aharon avoids shaking hands with Dan’s wife Yael, strictly observes kosher restrictions (even the ones Dan does not know about), and does just about everything possible to annoy his lefty brother. When the cranky kibbutznik learns Aharon only came to represent an Orthodox yeshiva in a protracted legal battle regarding their students’ draft eligibility, it just slightly rankles him, particularly as the father of an IDF soldier.

Though he uses the media masterfully, Aharon quickly deduces his case is a dog and his clients are problematic, to say the least. He is not too fond of the heat either, but his budding Tracy-and-Hepburn flirtation with the prosecutor is another matter entirely. He also builds a warm familial relationship with his nephew, despite the nature of his case. Indeed, Ahron seems to be nursing the wrong sort of Jerusalem Syndrome from his clients’ perspective.

In terms of ideology, Niddam clearly sides with the shepherd. Yet, he gives all the good human drama to the Orthodox brother. Arguably, when both back-stories are revealed, Aharon clearly emerges the more sympathetic of the two. Frankly, Dan is just a moody Marxist pill for most of the film. Of course, that basically necessitates Aharon’s change of heart and eventual destruction to serve Niddam’s didactic message. Hardly ambiguous, the filmmaker argues in no uncertain terms that the ultra Orthodox movement represented by Aharon’s clients constitutes a greater threat to Israel than Islamist terrorism. This seems rather dubious by any objective measure.

Regardless of Niddam’s agenda, Baruch Brener’s work as Aharon is absolutely first-rate. He takes a caricature and synthesizes a fully dimensional character. He also develops an appealing chemistry with Orna Fitoussi as the attractive prosecutor. Both actors and their characters deserve a more nuanced film. In contrast, Micha Celektar looks awkward and essentially falls flat as Dan, ironically the more judgmental of the two brothers.

Brothers is not exactly helped by its production values either, which lend it a distinctly TV movie look (and not even premium cable, at that). Brener gives a deeply human performance, but even with a number of nice moments, the whole is rather flawed. It is definitely an Israeli film tailor-made for the Upper Westside though, so it should be a crowd pleaser when it screens again this Thursday (5/12), Saturday (5/14), and the following Thursday (5/19) at the 25th Israel Film Festival in New York.

IFF ’11: Intimate Grammar

It is tough being a kid in 1960’s Israel, especially with a mother like Aharon Kleinfeld’s Mommy Dearest. Yet, the socially awkward protagonist might be a kid forever unless he starts growing again in Nir Bergman’s Intimate Grammar (trailer here), a somewhat odd Mother’s Day programming choice for the 2011 Israel Film Festival.

After witnessing the horrors of war and a Soviet labor camp, Kleinfeld’s father Moishe is a bit distant. His paternal grandmother is slowly sinking into dementia, but she has her occasional moments. His sister Yochi is loving and supportive, but she also suffers from self-esteem issues. His mother Hindale is definitely the verbal one—and how. Her specialty seems to be belittling her children, both intentionally and inadvertently.

Even Kleinfeld’s relationship with Gidon, an ardent Young Socialist, is tested when they begin an ostensibly friendly Jules and Jim-style courstship of Yaeli, an attractive ballet dancing classmate. As his parents’ son, Kleinfeld is not very good at matters of the heart, but perhaps he might pick-up something from his father’s open flirtations with the attractive neighbor across the street. Coming of age will be painful for the boy, if it happens at all.

There are certain times when the last thing anyone needs to hear is “I told you so,” particularly from one’s mother. Indeed, the consistent callousness, bordering on outright cruelty, of Hindale Kleinfeld is difficult to fully accept. Of course, if you can buy into it, Kleinfeld’s profound emotional troubles are only too easy to believe.

Roee Elsberg is convincingly bright and intelligent as Kleinfeld, which helps keep the audience invested during his periodic bouts of self-defeating behavior. As his dread mother, Orly Zilbershatz is absolutely ferocious, in a way that both helps and hinder’s Grammar dramatic integrity. Perhaps surprisingly, Yael Sgerski’s makes quite an enduring impression playing Kleinfeld’s older sister with understated humanity. It is unusual to see the older-younger sibling relationship portrayed with such love and empathy at this age, but that is what works best in the film.

Though David Grossman’s source novel is often compared to The Tin Drum, Bergman largely plays down the possible fantastical implications of Kleinfeld’s stunted growth. The boy is just small for his age. It happens. The film also implies a subtle critique of the Kumbaya culture so pronounced in 1960’s Israel. Kleinfeld is not a joiner, either of the scouts or the Socialists. He certainly is not cut out for kibbutz life. However, he pays a price for his individualism.

Art director Ido Dolev has a nice eye for period details and Biniamin Nimrod Chiram’s lens gives it an almost Rockwellesque color palette. Yet, there is no getting around the dour nature of the proceedings. A prestigious production with fine ensemble performances, Grammar is ultimately more sad than nostalgic. Recommended with much respect and a little affection, it screens again this Thursday (5/11) and the following Tuesday (5/17) at the 25th Israel Film Festival.

IFF ’11: The Matchmaker

Would you buy a second-hand heart from this man? Yankele Bride genuinely wants to make love connections, even for those who cannot afford to pay. Of course, the dodgy contraband in the storeroom is another question altogether. 1968 proves to be a tumultuous year for Bride and his adolescent assistant in Avi Nesher’s The Matchmaker (trailer here), one of the highlights of the 2011 Israel Film Festival in New York.

Bride was literally scarred by his time in the concentration camps, yet he still believes in love. He is still a realist though, telling his clients he “gets them what they need, not what they want.” Despite his many dubious enterprises, he scours the neighborhoods looking for the marginalized in need of his match-making help. That is how Arik Burstein initially encounters him. Fatefully, Burstein’s attempt at a practical joke at Bride’s expense backfires when it turns out he is a long lost classmate of his Romanian émigré father, Yossi. Before he knows it, young Burstein is working as Bride’s assistant, which largely involves trailing prospective clients to make sure they are on the up-and-up.

Although romance is Bride’s business of choice, he must settle for a close but chaste friendship with Clara, the love of his life, who remains profoundly haunted by her Holocaust experiences. In contrast, Burstein struggles against his attraction to the Tamara, his best friend Benny Abadi’s sultry hippy cousin, who finds herself spending her summer with the Jewish Iraqi family.

Matchmaker is filled with colorful characters and coming of age rites, but it does not happen in a vacuum. While Nesher keeps the tone wistful and nostalgic, the ever-present reality of war and terrorism periodically punctuates the proceedings. They also serve as a reminder that Bride (as well as Burstein’s father and even Clara) continue to choose life, despite the horrors they witnessed. Yet, it is the complex legacy of the Holocaust that is truly ever present, as the first first-generation Israelis (like Burstein) struggle to come to terms with implications of their parents’ tragic history. Nesher’s sharply written adaptation of Amir Gutfreund’s novel shrewdly examines this generation gap, with wit and sympathy.

Bride is easily one of the richest characters to hit screens in sometime. He might be a sentimental romantic, but is one shrewd customer. Misunderestimate him at your peril. No mere gentle giant, Adir Miller conveys a sense of his cunning and hardness, as well as his vulnerability.

Like Miller, Bat-El Papura also transcends physical stereotypes as the (not so) surprisingly smart and sophisticated Sylvia, one of the “Seven Dwarves” who own the Bollywood cinema Bride patronizes, as well as an impatient client. While Yossi Burstein is a relatively small part in terms of overall screen time, Dov Navon nails an unforgettable speech at a critical juncture that largely defines the film. As for young Burstein, Tuval Shafir comes across a bit petulant at times, which at least makes him a convincing teenager.

Haifa’s seedy “low-rent” district probably never looked as picturesque as it does through Michel Abramowicz’s lens. Indeed, it is quite an artful package, featuring original music composed by the great Philippe Sarde, scoring his first Israeli production here. Both challenging and moving, it is a deeply satisfying, bittersweet film. Highly recommended, Matchmaker screens again this Wednesday (5/11) and Sunday (5/15) at the 25th Israel Film Festival.

IFF ’11: Infiltration

The platoon of rejects undergoing bootcamp at IDF Training Base 4 cannot be called a Dirty Dozen. Frankly, they are not even dirty. Each should have been disqualified on the basis of physical or mental grounds. Instead, they are botching basic training together as a misfit unit in Dover Kosashvili’s Infiltration (trailer here), which screens during the 2011 Israel Film Festival in New York.

Miller is an epileptic. Peretz has anger management issues. Poor Rachamim Ben Hamo is a wreck, both physically and mentally. It is not exactly clear why self-styled ladies’ man Gabay is there, but it is quickly obvious he is the sort of person who makes every situation more difficult than necessary. Nearly everyone in the platoon expects a menial assignment when their course is completed, except Alon Harel. As a strapping young kibbutznik, he refuses to consider anything less than the paratroopers, not that he has any say in the matter. Unfortunately, his resentment will not dissipate, despite the (mostly) helpful suggestions of Commander Benny, their NCO drill instructor.

Based the 1986 novel by Yehoshua Kenaz, Infiltration (so titled for a war game exercise) obviously inspires comparisons to Full Metal Jacket. However, Commander Benny is no R. Lee Ermey. Granted, he can be cruel, but it is rather hard to blame him. After five minutes, you will want to haze the holy terror out of his recruits too.

On one level, Infiltration is the sort of film one wishes the Israeli film industry did not produce so frequently. After all, the America media is prolific enough producing negative portrayals of the IDF. There is no need for them to pile on. However, unlike more self-defeating Israeli imports, Infiltration is a rather nuanced and compelling film. In truth, drill instructors break down any sense of uniqueness and entitlement. It is what they do. If that requires crushing Harel’s heroic romanticism (as well as his self-esteem), then so be it.

Indeed, Michael Aloni is the real lynchpin of the film. He brings out balanced human dimensions to Benny, rather than simply playing him as the heavy. Likewise, Oz Zehavi elicits great sympathy as Harel, but there is always something slightly off about him. Indeed, he is not with this platoon by accident.

In dramatic contrast to the artful elegance of Georgian-Israeli Kosashvili’s previous film, Anton Chekhov’s The Duel, Avi Fahima’s design team give Infiltration a convincingly grubby sense of 1950’s barracks life in Israel. Yet, despite the lousiness of it all, there are those in the platoon like immigrant recruit “Zero Zero” who still consider it a veritable Promised Land, where his children can actually have a future. Of course, it will be due to the sacrifices of the men and women of the IDF, such as himself. If not exactly a valentine to the Israeli military, Infiltration is a high quality period production featuring consistently excellent work from its ensemble cast. It screens at the 25th Israel Film Festival tomorrow night (5/8), next Sunday (5/15), and the following Tuesday (5/17).

IFF ’11: Land of Genesis

When watching a mongoose take out his hissing foe in Israel’s first nature documentary, the allegory is almost too easy to draw. Fortunately, Israel has been the scrappy mongoose, not only defending the only civilized corner of the Middle East but also preserving considerable areas of pristine nature. Moshe Alpert documents three species of mammals raising their young in the wild habitats of Israel most people never knew existed in Land of Genesis (trailer here), which screens during the upcoming 2011 Israel Film Festival in New York.

Genesis will radically change how many people think of Israel, particularly the Golan Heights, where two wolves are starting their own pack. Likewise, the Sea of Galilee probably has much different associations for viewers than as the habitat for swamp cats. At least the desert might seem like a fitting environment for exotic species, like the ibexes Alpert follows.

Director-cinematographer Alpert captures some truly dramatic footage, often from decidedly unusual angles. However, he never minimizes the life-and-death realities of the natural world. Easily his most dramatic footage captures the ibexes scrambling off their mountaintop perches when a minor earthquake causes an avalanche. Indeed, it is a sequence that might be too intense for young viewers.

Yaron London’s narration is unabashedly anthropomorphic, yet the wolves, dubbed Alon and Nufar, seem remarkably expressive to human eyes. Still, it is probably the scenes of the ibexes with their large curved horns and unforgiving mating rituals that will be most informative to American audiences. (Parents should also be warned of a brief scene of animal “husbandry.”)

Capitalizing on the arresting vistas of natural Israel, Genesis is a visually striking film. Alpert captures some up-close-and-personal scenes of survival in the wild that provide moments of genuine surprise. It also demonstrates the how seriously the State of Israel takes their stewardship of the environment. One of the better films of the recent bumper crop of wildlife documentaries, it screens this Sunday (5/8), next Wednesday (5/11), the following Sunday (5/15), and Thursday (5/19) as part of the 2011 Israel Film Festival. In an ironic way, as the first Israeli nature doc, Genesis would also make a good double feature with Navot Papushado & Aharon Kashales’subversively witty Rabies, the first Israeli slasher film (also set in a nature preserve, albeit with an old minefield hidden within) which also screens at the festival next Saturday (5/14).