Moshe Ivgy Movies
- 2009
While Israel is a nation that has been in the center of the public eye ever since its birth, its national cinema has received relatively little attention, and only a handful of Israeli films have received extensive distribution outside the country. Raphael Nadjari at once addresses the story of filmmaking in Israel, the politics and aesthetics behind Israeli cinema, and how the nation's film industry has grown outside the interference of the west in this documentary. A History of Israeli Cinema is divided into two parts; the first half covers the years 1932 to 1978, beginning with Zionist films shot in Palestine by Jewish directors from Europe, and the second part is devoted to 1978-2005, when filmmakers embraced what locals critics called "The New Sensibility" and features with brave and defiant Sephardic heroes gave way to more nuanced fare dealing with the spiritual, political and ethical grey areas of a nation of immigrants. Along with extensive clips from a broad variety of key films, the documentary also includes interviews with noted film critic, actors and directors who talk about cinema and its role in a nation whose story is still being written. A History Of The Israeli Cinema received its world premiere at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2008
In this comedy from Israel, Shabtai (Alon Abutbul) is a junkman who makes his living reclaiming and selling various cast-offs he finds while scouring the back streets of Tel Aviv. Shabtai has been having a recurring dream in which he meets a beautiful red-headed woman who wastes no time in showing her affection for him. Shabtai doesn't think much of these reveries until he flips through a magazine one day and sees the (literal) woman of his dreams in an ad for cosmetics. Shabtai immediately becomes obsessed with finding the mystery woman, and with the help of his business partner and sidekick Herzel he sets out on a thorough search. In time, Shabtai tracks her down, but things don't work out as he hoped -- the beautiful woman is more interested in scruffy Herzel, who in turn is in love with someone else. Etsba Elohim (aka Out Of The Blue) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moshe Ivgy, Alon Aboutboul, (more)
- 2008
Filmmakers Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz revisit some of the characters from their 2004 picture Ve Lakachta Lecha Isha in this mordant examination of family life. It's 1991, the Middle East is still reeling from the impact of the Gulf War, and Ilana (Keren Mor) is an Israeli woman who has become a widow in the wake of her husband's unexpected death. After the funeral, members of the Ilana come to her home for the Jewish ritual of sitting shiva, in which the immediate family observes a week of prayer and contemplation as well-wishers visit. However, Ilana's family does not always get along, and as eight siblings and a number of parents, aunts, uncles and in-laws are brought together in close quarters, tensions rise to the surface over the course of the week. Haim (Moshe Ivgy) is a businessman whose firm is on the verge of bankruptcy after hiring a number of family members and close friends who've let him down. Viviane (Ronit Elkabetz) has left her husband Eliyahu (Simon Abkarian), though for some reason he thinks joining her for shiva will bring them back together, and she finds herself bickering with her sister and longtime rival Simone (Hanna Azoulay Hasfari). Jacques (Rafi Amzaleg) and his wife Lili (Yael Abecassis) are at each others throats, and Therese (Ruby Shoval) and Evelyne (Evelin Hagoel) sped most of their time in the kitchen, spreading malicious gossip about their relatives. Les Septs Jours (aka The Seven Days) was screened as part of the Critics Week series at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronit Elkabetz, Albert Illouz, (more)
- 2007
Years after moving to American in order to pursue his fame and flee from the responsibilities of parenthood, an ambitious novelist discovers that no matter how far he runs, his past will always catch up. Moshe was a moderately successful Israeli novelist who believed he never received the fame that he was due. Fed up with work and feeling trapped after the birth of his son, Moshe abandoned his wife and child in order to seek his fortune in America. Tzach joined with an elite unit of the Israeli army and rose through the ranks by fearlessly facing any challenge that came his way - no matter how deadly. It always seemed as if he were challenging fate, or perhaps trying to live larger than life in order to fill some long empty void. One day, after his mother dies, Tzach discovers the address of his long lost father buried among his mother's paperwork. As the pent up anger of never knowing his father blasts like a cork off a champagne bottle, the enraged young man decides to make contact. The moment Moshe realizes that his son has finally tracked him down, the runaway father's delusion of denial comes crashing down all around him. Now, as father and son become locked on a confrontational collision course, Moshe is about to discover just how futile it is for a man to run from his true fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moshe Ivgy, Ran Danker, (more)
Much as Steven Spielberg followed 1993's special-effects blockbuster Jurassic Park with a far more downbeat and personal project later the same year, Schindler's List, in 2005 after tearing up the box office with War of the Worlds the director closed out the year with a powerful and thoughtful drama about the human costs of international terrorism. The 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, were supposed to be a peaceful gathering of outstanding athletes from around the world, but on September 5, the games took a sinister turn when eight masked Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic village, killing two Israeli athletes and abducting nine others. The kidnappers demanded safe passage out of Germany in addition to the release of Arab prisoners in Israeli and German prisons, but when they arrived at the Munich airport they were met by German police and military forces, and in the melee that followed, all nine hostages were killed. In the wake of the killings, the Israeli government gave Mossad, the nation's intelligence agency, a special assignment -- to track down and eliminate the Palestinians responsible for the death of the Israeli athletes. A young and idealistic Mossad agent (Eric Bana) is assigned to the four-man unit created to wipe out the Olympic terrorists, but while he believes in serving his country, as their bloody work goes on he begins to buckle under the weight of his work and wonders if he can morally justify his nation's acts of revenge. Munich also stars Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Ciarán Hinds. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, (more)
A woman seeking to embrace both her faith and her culture finds that neither is as simple as she imagined in this drama from Israel. It's 1981, and Rachel (Michaela Eshet) has become a single mother of two teenage girls after the unexpected death of her husband. Looking for a new identity as she starts her life again, Rachael decides to pull up roots and leave Jerusalem for a new settlement on the West Bank. Rachel's daughters have become acclimated to city life and are unenthusiastic about their mother's decision, but that doesn't change her mind. However, Rachel's neighbors soon make their own feelings felt; they obviously aren't happy with the prospect of a single mother living in their community, and she soon finds herself subjected with any number of matchmaking opportunities from fiftysomething men. More seriously, daughters Esti (Maya Maron) and Tami (Hani Furstenberg) don't feel safe or accepted in their new environment, especially Tami, who has a traumatic experience while on a camping trip with a Zionist youth organization. Campfire was the winner five Israeli Academy Awards in 2005, including Best Picture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michaela Eshet, Moshe Ivgy, (more)
This light Israeli comedy-drama finds several denizens of a local coffee shop banding together for a common cause. For the regular patrons, the tiny cafe is a huge part of their lives. So when they learn of the shop's impending demolition, there's little question that they need to save their favorite hangout. Released in 2003, Cafe Tales was directed by Amit Lior and stars Moshe Ivgy and Elisheva Michaeli. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moshe Ivgy, Elisheva Michaeli, (more)
