Moni Moshonov Movies

This French-German-Israeli co-production helmed by director Keren Yedaya observes the heartbreaking tragedy that erupts from an affair between a young Jewish woman and an Arab mechanic. Mali Wolf (Dana Ivgy) is the daughter of garage proprietor Reuven (Moni Moshonov) and his wife Osnat (Ronit Elkabetz); Reuven employs two Arabs, father and son Hassan (Hussein Yassin Mahajneh) and Tawfik (Mahmoud Shalaby) at his shop. He shows them basic respect, though an undercurrent of racial hostility bubbles beneath the surface among all concerned. Meanwhile, Mali and Tawfik nurture a discreet relationship -- so discreet that no one else realizes what is happening -- and in seemingly no time, Mali realizes that she is pregnant with Tawfik's daughter, but deliberately avoids telling him. Things come to a head at the shop when Tawfik gets into a brawl with Mali's hotheaded brother Meir (Roy Assaf), ends up killing the young man, and gets shuttled off to prison. Mali breaks up with Tawfik, but decides to have the baby and lies to her parents, informing them that the father is a married man and will remain out of the picture. All bodes well with the child and the family for nine years, until Tawfik gets out of prison, still unaware of the presence of his daughter Shiran (Lili Ivgy). For a stylistic model, Yedaya emulates the approach of slick Egyptian melodramas. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Set against the backdrop of the bloody battle waged between New York City cops and the Russian mafia in the 1980s, director James Gray's period drama tells the tale of an emerging club manager whose family ties to law enforcement make him a target for the city's most dangerous criminals. Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) manages one of Gotham's hottest clubs, but being in the club scene often means turning a blind eye to blatant criminal activities. Realizing that his career -- and perhaps his life -- could come to a sudden end if anyone discovers that his father, Bert (Robert Duvall), is the deputy chief of police and his brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg), is a rising star on the force, Bobby struggles to keep that sensitive information from everyone except his devoted girlfriend, Amada (Eva Mendes). Russian kingpin Vadim (Alex Veadov) is a ruthless criminal who is willing to permanently silence anyone who dares cross him -- regardless of whether the person is a stranger on the street or a lifelong member of the family. When the Russian mafia declares all-out war against the NYPD, conflicted Bobby is forced to choose between his life of luxury and the family that he has worked so fervently to separate himself from. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A couple sets out to find the perfect bride for their son, whether their son likes it or not, in this Israeli comedy. Zaza (Lior Louie Ashkenazi) is a graduate student in his early thirties who has finally found the woman of his dreams -- Judith (Ronit Elkabetz), a Moroccan immigrant with a daughter, Madonna (Sapir Kugman), from a previous marriage. Zaza and Judith have similar interests, a great personal rapport, a keen understanding of one another's feelings, and excellent sexual chemistry, but for Zaza there's one little problem -- his parents. His mother Lili (Lili Kosashvili) and father Yasha (Moni Moshonov) are bound and determined to marry their son to a nice Georgian Jewish girl (who is, of course, a virgin), and they not only disapprove of Zaza's relationship with Judith, they insist on fixing him up on dates as if he isn't in a committed relationship; when that fails to make an impression on Zaza, Lili and Yasha use emotional blackmail against their son, and Lili even goes so far as to confront Judith and insist she stop seeing her son. Late Marriage was shown at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Un Certain Regard series; Lili Kosashvili, who makes her screen debut playing Lili, is actually the mother of the film's writer/director, Dover Kosashvili. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Tumultuous Beirut provides the setting for this political drama that centers on a world-weary, lazy American reporter who has been reluctantly assigned to cover the latest war between the PLO and the Christian Phalangists. He could care less about the conflict and sends in stories stolen from other hard-working journalists until he begins getting more involved and interested after he humiliates himself by interviewing a bogus PLO leader. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi