Yevgenia Dudina Movies
Author Yoram Kaniuk's celebrated 1971 novel concerning a charismatic yet questionably sane Holocaust survivor comes to the screen in this dark drama starring Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, and Derek Jacobi. In the years before World War II, Adam Stein (Goldblum) was a Berlin entertainer who thrilled audiences with extravagant circus acts and spectacular magic tricks. Later, when Hitler took power and Europe was plunged into chaos, Stein and his family were locked away in a concentration camp presided over by the sadistic Commandant Klein (Dafoe). The only reason Stein survived those dreadful years was because he managed to become the commandant's personal "dog," entertaining his captors even as his wife and daughter are marched off to die. Flash-forward to 1961, when Stein is a patient at an Israeli mental hospital for Holocaust survivors. Seemingly able to read minds, Stein confounds head doctor Nathan Gross (Jacobi) with the question "Who brought a dog in here?" Despite Gross' vehement denial that any such animal is on the premises, Stein soon tracks the scent to a young boy who has spent his entire youth locked in a basement and chained to a wall. Over time, Stein and the boy see in each other something undeniably familiar, and the two kindred spirits set out on a remarkable journey together. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, (more)
Eyal Halfon directs this comedy-drama about a Russian circus that disrupts a volatile community of irate Palestinians, high-strung Israeli settlers, and shifty hucksters on either side. At first, everyone wants to check out this new diversion; they become less enthusiastic when the troupe's aging lion escapes. Suddenly, this already tense neighborhood is thrown into a tizzy. Circus Palestina swept the Israeli equivalent of the Academy Awards and was screened at the 1999 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yoram Hatav, Yevgenia Dudina, (more)
- 1997
Agor Shif directed this Israeli road movie. After serving time for a bank robbery, Gadi (Nir Levi) is released on probation for a three-day journey putting up holiday flags. He invites his younger brother Itzakale (Avshalom Polak) to come along, although their mother is dying in the hospital. Joining the two brothers is escaped convict Shoshana (Alon Abutbul). Traveling the countryside in a van, they put up Independence Day flags with stopovers at gas stations and roadside cafes. At one cafe, the trio picks up a pregnant hitchhiker (Yevgena Dudina), and both brothers are attracted to her. But one morning when the brothers are not present, she's raped by Shoshana, leading to her departure. Shown at the 1997 Haifa Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nir Levi, Avshalom Polak, (more)
