Yossi Uzrad Movies
- 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
A young boy caught between two cultures discovers the tools to bridge the gap in this Israeli drama. Chen's mother is a delicate Russian woman who appreciates fine things like art and culture. His father is a rough, tough Israeli man who doesn't like to see his son engage in things that seem feminine. Chen is caught in the middle, and his inner conflict only increases when he passes by a youth dance class and catches a glimpse of a beautiful Russian girl. Chen is instantly in love, and his new interest in dance could be just what his family needs to find a compromise between two opposing forces. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vladimir Volov, Avi Kushnir, (more)
- 2007
Oded Gur Arie was born in Israel, and as he was growing up in the 1960's his father would frequently go away on business trips for weeks on end, with little warning of when he would be coming or going. Oded was puzzled by this, but it wasn't until Ze'ev Gur Arie moved to Paris with his wife and son that he told young Oded what he did for a living -- he was an agent with MOSSAD, the Israeli intelligence agency, and under their tutelage he was leading a double life as Wolfgang Lotz, a wealthy horse breeder with a past in Nazi Germany. As Lotz, Ze'ev made friends with a number of former Nazi scientists who were being courted by the Egyptian government with an eye towards creating advanced weapons systems to use against Israel. Lotz was also a man who traveled in sophisticated circles and enjoyed the life of a playboy, quite a change from Ze'ev's staid existence as a husband and father. As a boy, Oded Gur Arie was forced to keep his father's double life a secret for the safety of his family, but years later he shares the strange story of his father's career with filmmaker Nadav Schirman in the documentary The Champagne Spy, in which Oded and a handful of former MOSSAD agents talk about Ze'ev Gur Arie, his years as Wolfgang Lotz (including a marriage to a German woman), and his troubled life after leaving MOSSAD, in which he and his family came to understand the toll his career had truly taken on them all. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
When the Ceremonial Police Band of Alexandria, Egypt, journeys to a gig in Israel, they can hardly anticipate getting stuck in a rut. But upon arrival at the Israeli airport, their hosts and transportation fail to show. So begins first-time director Eran Kolirin's fish-out-of-water comedy The Band's Visit (aka Bikur Hatizmoret, 2007). Trapped in a middle-of-nowhere desert town, the group members try to figure out what to do and where to go. In desperation, two of the musicians -- conductor Tawfiq (Sasson Gabai) and playboy Haled (Saleh Bakri) -- accept an invitation from sexy café owner Dina (Ronit Elkabetz) to bunk at her residence, and seemingly within no time, the unlikeliest of interracial (Israeli-Palestinian) romances begin to blossom -- not only between Tawfiq and Dina, but between Haled and local wallflower Papi (Shlomi Avraham), whose night together at a roller disco turns into a veritable comedy of errors. Meanwhile, the remainder of the bandmembers room with local resident Itzik's (Rubi Moscovich) family, which produces overwhelming conflict and innumerable tensions. As the days roll on, the co-mingling of Egyptian bandmembers and Israeli residents imparts each individual with insights into his cultural identity and that of the others. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, (more)
