The
second war in Lebanon is raging. As
Hezbollah rains down bombs on northern Israel, everyday Israelis respond by
pulling together, offering refuge to evacuees.
Shaul is not from the north, but he is in need of shelter, especially now
that his underwhelmed daughter has been bundled off to live with him. He might be problematic, but it is hard to
judge the irresponsible “inventor” too harshly in Maya Kenig’s Off White Lies (trailer here), which opens
today in New York.
Fresh
off the plane from America, Libby is pretty appalled by the sight of her
slovenly father, Shaul. She is also
confused why he does not take her straight to his home. Of course, he does not have one. He was hoping to stay with a buddy up north,
but the bombardments scuttled those plans.
A news report gives Shaul a bright idea: accept the hospitality of a
family hosting displaced northerners. This
will be Libby’s first time pulling a fast one, but the girl has to learn
sometime.
Shaul
and Libby land in the well to do home of senior military officer Gidi and his
wife Helit. Unfortunately, both are
naturally suspicious. While the father
and daughter’s frequently evolving story ought to offer plenty of red flags,
the host family sort of falls for Shaul’s goofy charm. Nonetheless, exposure always lurks just
around the corner.
Obviously,
the extraordinary circumstances help the father and daughter repair their
relationship. Kenig and co-writer Dana
Dimant clearly are not allergic to a little sentiment, but at least they are
not compelled to tie everything together into a pretty bow. Although Lies
hits a lot of quirky notes, it is still interesting to see Israeli life
during wartime from the perspective of an indie dramedy.
Gur
Bentwich’s goonish likability really is Kenig’s ace in the hole. Never too manic or shticky, he is just eccentric
enough to be real. Elya Inbar has some
nice getting-reacquainted scenes with him, even though Libby’s petulance gets a
little wearisome over time. However,
Tzahi Grad gets the lion’s share of the laughs as the gruff but surprisingly
pragmatic Gidi.
