Amir Harel Movies
- 2008
- R
A jobless 28-year-old residing in an apartment with his single father discovers the meaning of life for a bargain-basement price in this stop-motion animation film featuring the voices of Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Anthony LaPaglia, and Geoffrey Rush. Dave has made it his mission to discover the meaning of life, so when he stumbles across a book claiming to answer just that question for the low, low price of just $9.99, he can't help but make an impulse purchase. Much to his surprise, the book contains all the answers he's been searching for, a revelation that compels him to share this newfound information with his neighbors -- an eccentric bunch whose stories gradually intertwine to offer a revealing portrait of their hopes, loves, and spiritual beliefs. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, (more)
- 2007
A documentary filmmaker and his father set out to explore the history of the Jewish Brigade, instead discovering a family secret that has remained buried since World War II. Uncertain as to what will become his next project, unemployed filmmaker Shahar is told by his father Sleiman that he should consider making a documentary about the Jewish Brigade. Sleiman had served in the Jewish Brigade during World War II, during which time he impregnated two Dutch women. Upon announcing this obscure bit of trivia, Shahar and his father gas up their car and begin the long drive from Israel to Holland. Upon arriving at their destination, the two travelers make a most unusual discovery. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Israeli co-directors Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen's ensemble comedy drama Meduzot (aka Jellyfish, 2007) weaves together multiple seriocomic tales of intersecting lives, set against the deep azure backdrop of Middle Eastern seascapes. Affording equal emphasis to each tale, Keret and Geffen first hone in on Batya (Sarah Adler), a young woman employed as a caterer, whose firm places strongest emphasis on weddings. As the film opens, Batya breaks up with her boyfriend, and struggles with her supremely dysfunctional, argumentative parents, who correspond with her only by leaving periodic messages on her answering machine. Her life takes a most unpredictable turn when she happens upon a tearstained little girl (Nikol Leidman) who wanders out of the ocean, wearing only a pair of panties and toting an inner tube -- origin unknown. The foundling gravitates magnetically to Batya and refuses to separate from her.
Meanwhile, at Batya's latest assignment -- the Hebrew wedding of Michael (Gera Sandler) and Keren (Noa Knoller) -- the gorgeous bride breaks a leg while attempting to escape from a locked toilet, thus inevitably delaying her honeymoon in the Caribbean. Also present at the wedding reception is a Filipino caregiver, Joy (Ma-nenita De Latorre), saddled with an array of grouchy, snotty elderly clients who make verbal barbs in Hebrew that she cannot understand. In her private life, Joy struggles with geographical estrangement from her young son -- who still resides in the Philippines -- and remains completely aware of the irony that she's caring for nonfamilial dependents but virtually abandoning her own flesh and blood. And in yet another substory, Malka (Zaharira Harifai), one of Joy's octogenarian clients, gripes and moans about her own actress daughter's participation in an "experimental" version of Hamlet but demonstrates her own ability to reassure and encourage Joy. The ocean -- recurrent throughout the picture -- adds an allegorical layer to the proceedings; in the hands of Keret and Geffen, it symbolizes the narrative juggle of multiple lives, and the lack of self-determinism inherent in any -- the idea that all are wholly subject to the caprices of fate. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Meanwhile, at Batya's latest assignment -- the Hebrew wedding of Michael (Gera Sandler) and Keren (Noa Knoller) -- the gorgeous bride breaks a leg while attempting to escape from a locked toilet, thus inevitably delaying her honeymoon in the Caribbean. Also present at the wedding reception is a Filipino caregiver, Joy (Ma-nenita De Latorre), saddled with an array of grouchy, snotty elderly clients who make verbal barbs in Hebrew that she cannot understand. In her private life, Joy struggles with geographical estrangement from her young son -- who still resides in the Philippines -- and remains completely aware of the irony that she's caring for nonfamilial dependents but virtually abandoning her own flesh and blood. And in yet another substory, Malka (Zaharira Harifai), one of Joy's octogenarian clients, gripes and moans about her own actress daughter's participation in an "experimental" version of Hamlet but demonstrates her own ability to reassure and encourage Joy. The ocean -- recurrent throughout the picture -- adds an allegorical layer to the proceedings; in the hands of Keret and Geffen, it symbolizes the narrative juggle of multiple lives, and the lack of self-determinism inherent in any -- the idea that all are wholly subject to the caprices of fate. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Adler, Nikol Leidman, (more)
- 2007
Documentary filmmaker Ran Tal draws on footage culled from over eighty amateur films shot between 1930 and 1970 to explore the curious story of the Israeli kibbutz movement. Conceived as a utopian refuge, kibbutz were collective communities in which children were raised to become the new face of the Jewish people. In the kibbutz, children were offered only limited contact with their parents; completely oblivious to the bold experiment in which they were the primary test subjects. They were cared for by nannies, and slept together in a separate cottage designed specifically for them. As a result the children became their own family, a new breed that placed little value on material possessions while immersing themselves in physical labor and strict ideology. Director Tal was one of those children, and in this film he offers a vivid portrait of that epoch by allowing other former kibbutz members to comment on the archival footage while reflecting on their unconventional childhoods. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Said (Kais Nashef) is a young Palestinian living in Nablus, and working as a mechanic. He gets his friend Khaled (Ali Suliman) a job, but the hot-tempered and impulsive Khaled quickly loses it. Suha (Lubna Azabal), a pretty, well-traveled young woman and the daughter of a well-known "martyr," brings her car in to be fixed, and flirts with Said. He's clearly interested in her, so much so that he continues to think of her when he's approached later that day by Jamal (Amer Hlehel), who tells him that he's been selected for an important mission, a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, and that Khaled will be joining him, as they had requested. That night, Jamal stays with Said at his mother's (Hiam Abbass) house, while another man stays with Khaled. Said sneaks off during the night to bring Suha her car keys, and has a brief discussion with her about her father's death, and what options the Palestinians have in their dealings with Israel. Said doesn't tell her the real reason for his visit: he's saying goodbye. The next morning, as scheduled, Said and Khaled are given neat haircuts and suits. They each make a video explaining to their families why they've chosen this path. Explosives are strapped on, and they are warned that trying to remove the belts themselves will result in detonation. When they're brought to a hole in the fence surrounding Nablus, they are intercepted by Israeli troops. Khaled and Said flee, and get separated. Said is left on his own. Paradise Now was co-written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad (Rana's Wedding, Ford Transit). A hit on the festival circuit, it was selected for inclusion in the 2005 New York Film Festival by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, (more)
South African actor Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe stars as a devout Christian who becomes part of Tel Aviv's migrant force after making a pilgrimage from his African village to the Holy Land in director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz's cinematic look at the contrast between hypocritical Western values and cultural Israeli divisions. After embarking on a religious journey to the Holy Land in a quest to find spiritual fulfillment, James (Shibe)'s subsequent involvement with the impoverished migrant workforce finds his religious journey sidetracked by an increasing desire to give his wealthy employers an unanticipated run for their money. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe, Arie Elias, (more)
An Israeli agent with a license to kill is thrown off his game by two people who challenge his deeply held assumptions in this drama. Eyal (Lior Ashkenazi) is an agent with Mossad, the Israeli intelligence and security force. A man capable of making snap moral judgments but unwilling to reveal his emotions, Eyal has been burying himself in his often bloody work since the death of his wife. Eyal's latest assignment is to try to learn the whereabouts of a Nazi war criminal; as it happens, his granddaughter Pia (Carolina Peters) is in Israel spending time on a kibbutz, and when he learns that her brother Axel (Knut Berger) is coming to visit her, Eyal goes undercover as a tour guide in order to get to know them without arousing suspicion. Eyal finds himself taken with Pia, who displays a warmth and openness he's never expected to find in a German. At the same time, Eyal discovers Axel is gay and doesn't care who knows about it, and as Eyal gets to know him he finds himself torn between his genuine fondness for Axel and his long-standing homophobia. Walk on Water was directed by Eytan Fox, who earned international acclaim for his story of two gay men in the Israeli army, Yossi & Jagger. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lior Ashkenazi, Knut Berger, (more)
Yossi (Ohad Knoller) is the stoic company commander of an Israeli Defense Forces unit on the Lebanese border. Jagger (Yehuda Levi), who got his nickname thanks to his fun-loving rock star appeal, is the platoon leader. They have a secret. When they walk off in the snow together, it isn't because they're on patrol--it's because they're lovers. Jagger is more gregarious. He tells Yossi that he loves him, and longs to hear Yossi say it back to him. He makes plans for their future together, urging Yossi to leave the army with him when Jagger's mandatory service is done. Yossi can't bring himself to make any promises. "This isn't some. . .American movie," he tells Jagger. The colonel (Sharon Reginiano) arrives with two female soldiers, the irrepressible sexpot Goldie (Hani Furstenberg) and her more introspective friend Yaeli (Aya Koren of Late Marriage), who harbors a serious crush on Jagger, and is herself pursued by Jagger's nosy roommate, Ofir (Assi Cohen). As the unit's perfectionist chef, Yaniv (Erez Kahana) struggles to make a sumptuous meal for the commanding officer with meager supplies, the colonel tells Yossi that Hezbollah forces are expected to cross the border, and the already exhausted unit needs to set up an ambush that night. Yossi & Jagger, directed by Eytan Fox, was a critical and commercial hit in Israel. It was shown at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival and had its U.S. premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ohad Knoller, Yehuda Levi, (more)
Director Benny Torati's bittersweet ensemble film Desperado Square spins a tale of respect, long-lost loves and village history amongst a settlement of Greek Jews near Tel Aviv. On the one-year anniversary of the respected elder statesman Morris Mandabon's death -- and on the eve of a schedule memorial in his honor -- his eldest son, Nisim (Nir Levi), dreams that his late father is beckoning him to reopen the family movie theater that had closed several years previously. Drawing his brother, George (Sharon Reginyano), into the scheme, the two set out to fulfill their father's wish. Their mother, Signora (Yona Elian), provides fierce opposition, which intensifies when she learns that her sons intend to screen the sexually charged Bollywood film Sangam. She reacts as such due the film's portrayal of a love triangle that has more than a passing resemblance to her own life -- she was madly in love with Morris' brother, Avram (Mohammed Bakri), but was affianced to Morris through an arrangement of families. After her engagement to Morris, Avram disappeared in order to stay out of the way. And, to further complicate matters, Avram arrives in the settlement in order to participate in his brother's memorial. As a result, the family is forced to come to terms with its past, as well as revisioning its future. Desperado Square premiered in Israel in 2000 and was included in the programs of several Jewish film festivals in both the United States and abroad in 2001 and 2002. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
