Ezra Kafri Movies
The sophomore feature of Israeli director Joseph Pitchhadze, Besame Mucho is a meditation on the nature of love. Set mainly at night in Tel Aviv, the film revolves around a group of characters who are all loosely connected to the theft of a Christian icon from an international crime organization. Besame Mucho was screened at the 2000 Jerusalem Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carmel Betto, Eli Danker, (more)
- 1997
The winner of the 1995 Jerusalem Film Festival, this political thriller centers on a young hero who returns to Israel from Berlin to ostensibly attend the funeral of his father, a convicted Russian spy. Instead he learns that the death was a ruse and that he is to be the bait in an elaborate scheme to catch his father, who has just escaped from prison. When the son learns the truth, he enters the desert to search for his father. He is assisted by a beautiful young actress. They are constantly followed by a pair of determined cops. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
This Israeli comedy was shot in Tel Aviv. Itzik Finkelstein is a loser. Like many losers, he prefers blaming others for his condition rather than accepting responsibility for himself. A grown man, still living with his mother, Finkelstein is the classic hustler. As a get-rich scheme, he purchases 50,000 novelty key-chains depicting monks with large erections. Unfortunately, no one wants these novelties, and Finkelstein is devastated until one of the key-chains, which is really a six-foot genie in disguise, springs to life and offers to grant Itzik his wishes. No one else but Finkelstein can see this genie. With the help of the genie, Itzik seeks revenge on those "responsible" for his miserable life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moshe Ivgi, Esteban Gottfried, (more)
Espionage, personal integrity, and political commitment are the main themes running through this French thriller that chronicles a young man's journey from idealism to disillusionment and maturity. The story is set in the 1980's in Tel Aviv and follows the exploits and moral conflicts of Attal, a Jew who left his family in France on his eighteenth birthday to pursue a career as an agent in Israels' Institute for Intelligence, the Mossad. At first, his missions do not bother his conscience; he performs them for the good of Israel. But, as time passes, Attal must face more moral dilemmas as the work becomes more subversive and dishonest. He must ultimately decide whether to follow the his personal ideals, or be part of a system which promote immoral acts in the name of idealism. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvan Attal, Dan Toren, (more)
In general, one could say that Tel Aviv is where worldly Israelis go to play, and Jerusalem is where religious ones go to pray. In this tragic drama, the characters are all denizens of Tel Aviv's nightlife, and the action centers around an all-night bar owned by two women with difficult romantic relationships. The first owner is Dalia (Gila Almagor), who is the mistress of a film producer in ill health. The second owner is Leora (Irit Frank), whose policeman boyfriend Benny (Shuli Rand) can't stop tomcatting around. The bar is currently populated by the owners, some well-lubricated soldiers, Leora's boyfriend Frank, Riki (a mentally fragile woman who is "under doctor's orders" never to allow herself to be alone), a singer, some drug dealers, and the Arabs who work in the kitchen. Benny plays the hero at first by rescuing Riki (Avital Dicker) from the soldiers, but then he seduces her, with tragic results. More tragedy follows, as the crows of truth come home to roost. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gila Almagor, Shuli Rand, (more)
- 1991
Wanting to learn more about his Jewish heritage, a French philosophy professor moves to an Israeli kibbutz located near the Golan Heights in 1965. He is followed by a non-Jewish former student who abandons her aspirations of becoming a concert violinist to be with him. Two years pass, and professor Sacha is joined by three more former students who have come down to celebrate the lovely violinist's 20th birthday. Unfortunately, the tensions that led up to the Six Day's War are rapidly escalating and Sacha is drafted into the military. The night of the party, one of the guests shows home movies of their lives in Paris. Sacha cannot help but feel guilty pangs while watching for the films contain scenes of his love Myriam, the woman who committed suicide after he broke up with her. Her death is one of the reasons he left Paris. It is with this guilt roiling around inside that Sacha goes to war leading to the story's bittersweet conclusion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Berry, Sophie Marceau, (more)
- 1991
Despite the almost endless parade of films from Israel which deal with excruciating political or social problems in a profoundly intimate, even myopic fashion, escapist comedy is a much-desired commodity there. This ground-breaking comedy received the Wolgin prize from the 1991 Jerusalem Film Festival at least partly as an acknowledgment that it sticks to comedy and avoids preaching of any kind. In the story, Shuroo (Moshe Ivgi) is an inveterate con man who has come up with perhaps his most skillful scheme: a self-fulfillment program for the spiritually impoverished. After getting interviewed on a television talk show, he is able to gather a group of loyal followers who are happy to have their pocketbooks milked of funds. This proceeds smoothly for him, and he meddles in the lives of his latest dupes, with comic results, until word of his unsavory background begins to get out and the tables are turned. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Hacohen
- 1988
Bouba may have been a war hero, but the war traumatized him too much for him to endure human company. Now he is a silent hermit living in the deserts of southern Israel in an abandoned bus and an old gas station. One day, his solitude is broken when his brother joins him there to hide from his employers, mobsters for whom he has been an enforcer. On the same day, a girl who was on her way to a dance competition is stranded there and takes refuge with him as well. Events soon come to a head, and Bouba must prove that he cares about living, and he once again discovers that he has the heart of a hero. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ze'ev Revach, Eli Danker, (more)
- 1986
This routine drama is set in 1937 and looks at the struggles of a young, working-class boxer in British-run Palestine. Tolek (Ika Zohar) may be a talented pugilist but he basically does not like the idea of going into a ring and beating his opponent senseless. Nevertheless, circumstances conspire to force him into matches and his success leads to the biggest challenge of his career -- a bout with an American professional boxer. Conflicted over his unwanted career, Tolek has a growing relationship with his pretty Hebrew teacher (Sharon Hacohen) which eases some of his pain. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ezra Kafri
- 1984
- R
This melodrama chronicles a couple's attempt to deal with a failing marriage in the '80s. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Although it is based on an intriguing premise -- Dale (Brooke Shields), disguised as a man, takes the place of her late father in a 1927 car race through the Sahara -- this film perversely falls flatter than a blow-out, and just as quickly. After starting the race and because of tribal warfare, Dale winds up a prisoner of the thug Rasoul (John Rhys-Davies) but is appropriately rescued by a dashing sheik (Lambert Wilson). Then after she is back in the race, she is captured and thrown into a leopard's cage by another desert villain. The Indy 500, this is not. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Shields, Lambert Wilson, (more)
- 1982
When a man is released from a mental hospital he encounters a severe emotional blow that threatens his recovery -- his wife has left him, and she has taken their son with her. From this unstable situation the man leaves to fulfill his annual one-month's military service, and while back in the army, he regains some self-esteem as the camaraderie and mutual support of his buddies helps him to stabilize -- but his personal struggle with his own demons is far from over. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnon Zadok, Ofra Weingarten, (more)
