Amos Gitai Movies
A former architecture student who turned to filmmaking following a harrowing near-death experience, Amos Gitai entered the world of film as a documentarian and gradually gravitated toward more fictional celluloid subjects. Gitai's sometimes controversial works often strive to make sense of the endless cycle of violence in the Middle East, and his acute sense of social conscience often bleeds through even into his fictional works.Gitai was born just two years after the state of Israel was established; his father was a classically trained architect and his mother the daughter of Zionist pioneers. After mandatory military service, the future director attempted to follow in his father's footsteps by studying architecture at Haifa's Technion Institute. It wasn't long before he ventured stateside to study at the University of California-Berkley. Gitai's education was interrupted with the breakout of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and it was while embarking on a search and rescue mission over Syria that his life would change forever. When the helicopter he was riding in was shot down by enemy gunfire, the cockpit exploded and the ensuing crash killed nearly everyone onboard except for Gitai. Though he would escape the tragedy with only minor physical injuries, the event shook the student to his very core -- sparking a move toward filmmaking by means of a Super-8 camera given to him by his mother as a birthday present.
Gitai's early abstract short films were comprised of obscure images of landscapes and political rallies, and revealed his rare gift for capturing powerful images; his ability to form a compelling narrative structure developed soon thereafter. In the years that followed, Gitai gained a worldwide reputation as a filmmaker unafraid to tackle difficult subjects who was unflinching in his dedication to exploring conflict and resolve to its fullest. Gitai focused his lens on everything from such intensely personal subjects as his home and family life to the intricate layers of life in the Middle East. Early efforts such as House (1978) and Field Diary (1982) explored the tragedy of Palestinian history so deeply that they were, not surprisingly, censored. After returning stateside to earn his Ph.D. in architecture from the University of California-Berkeley, Gitai even turned his lens on the United States for such works as In Search of Identity (1980) and American Mythologies (1981). A move to Paris found Gitai exploring the life of an exile in such fictional works as Berlin Jerusalem (1989, winner of the critic's prize at the Venice Film Festival). Frequent collaborations with acclaimed cinematographer Henri Alékan ensured that his films would be as visually compelling as their subject matter was mentally stimulating. After moving back to his hometown of Haifa in the mid-'90s, Gitai was as busy as ever behind the camera. Following his exploration of the events that changed his life in the 2000 war drama Kippur, Gitai contributed the segment "Israel" to the episodic drama 11'09''01 -- September 11, which probed the devastating effects of the terrorist attack on the United States on the eponymous date. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Censored by Israeli television, director Amos Gitai's controversial documentary tells the story of a West Jerusalem house with a most fascinating history. Originally the dwelling of a Palestinian doctor, the home was abandoned when the Arab-Israeli War broke out in 1948. Subsequently declared "vacant" by the Israeli government, the home was rented to Jewish-Algerian immigrants in 1956. Flash forward, and a university professor purchases the home with the intention of transforming it into a patrician villa. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1983
In spite of difficulties posed by soldiers, officials, and other authorities who tried to stop him from filming, director Amos Gitai stubbornly forged ahead with this documentary on the Israeli occupied areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Life in these regions is shown in all its variety, from the Israeli soldiers who mainly support the occupation (one does suggest the land should be returned to the Palestinians), to the markets and towns bustling with activity, to the farmers at work. There is also an interview with a mayor who was permanently disabled in a bomb blast, and overall, an attempt was made to present a complete picture of both Palestinian and Israeli life in these disputed territories. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Wandering from scene to scene instead of focusing on the issue at hand, this story is meant to be about Thai workers finding jobs in Arab countries like Bahrain while leaving their country and their wives behind them. Instead of staying with this theme, interludes like a prince in Bahrain giving a tour of his mansion, and a film censor discussing film detract from the ostensible purpose of director Amos Gitai. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
In this experimental film that deals metaphorically with Arab-Jewish relations in the Middle East, left-leaning director Amos Gitai uses Biblical history to comment on the current situation in Israel and its vicinity. This story deals in part with the Jewess Esther and how she managed to save her people from extermination after she became the wife of the king of Persia. But the setting is a slum near Haifa and the ancient city of Acre. As the mummers walk through their parts with lines taken from the scriptures, the camera moves slowly through scenes or stops entirely. Sounds of the modern world start to intrude on the ancient setting, and in the final sequences of the film, the actors now wear modern clothes as they walk through the streets of Acre, each telling their own personal history -- and a parallel emerges between the ancient story of Esther saving the Jews and the modern Middle East. The cast is comprised of both Arab and Jewish actors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simona Binyamini, Shmuel Wolf, (more)
- 1987
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were at the height of their popularity in the group The Eurythmics, when this film of their concert tour of Japan was made. Despite the fact that the performers have little of interest to offer in their offstage moments, the concert footage shows that they know how to entertain onstage. Further, reviewers fell all over themselves in their praise for the director's skill in filming the event. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
This difficult-to-follow arthouse film explores the parallel stories of two very idealistic Zionist women who never met in real life. The story concerns the German poet Elsa Lasker-Schuller and the Russian Mania Schochat. Elsa (Lisa Krezer) lives in 1920's Berlin as Germany is degenerating into the chaos from which Hitler will emerge. Mania (Rivka Neumann) is living in Palestine, amid some of the first and most rigorous experiments in genuinely Marxist living, at a radical kibbutz. Each survives to be present at the beginning of the Jewish state, and each is sorely disillusioned. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Kreuzer, Markus Stockhausen, (more)
In this exploration of the mythical Golem, former Eurythmics fromtwoman Annie Lennox and director Amos Gitai use the tale of the vengeful clay statue come to life as a parable for the creative process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
In modern-day Paris, a cabalist known as the Maharal has created a golem, an artificial being constructed of earth and clay, infused with spirit through the recitation of a special formula. The legendary being he brings to life is known in this instance as "The Spirit of Exile," and the magician's goal in creating her was to create a protector for Jews in need of one. In this movie, the golem is motivated to assist numerous people whose lives are marked by tragedy. In the main story, she must try to help Shemesh, a woman whose many troubles cause her to resemble the Biblical character of Job. She has been evicted from her home after her husband and sons die, and she and her daughter-in-law must find some means for surviving their difficult situation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hanna Schygulla, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, (more)
- 1993
In this documentary, director Amos Gitai turns the spotlight on an incident which took place between two skinheads and a man who asserted that he had Jewish blood. While Gitai makes every effort to develop a pattern of anti-Semitism from the incident, through interviewing townspeople, witnesses and prosecutors, reviewers found that the aggregate impression they received after viewing the film was that some not-too-intelligent and overly aggressive men had simply engaged in a drinking contest which turned nasty. Despite that, the film provides a clear sense of the social barriers and frustrations which many young Germans experience today. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Instead of simply traveling to eastern Siberia to collect a modern art collection willed to him by a forgotten uncle, Daniel (Jerome Koenig), who runs an art gallery in Paris, decides (for reasons which are never explained) to bring a ten-foot long hand along with him. It is perhaps a portion of a huge sculpture of a golem (an artifical being dicussed in Jewish legends). Thus, instead of flying to Vladivostok, he rents a truck in St. Petersburg and drives across Russia. Along the way, he drops hints about a short-lived experiment in social engineering: Birobidjian, an autonomous region created in Siberia in 1928 especially for Jews. Hanna Schygulla, who starred in the first film of this trilogy, also makes a brief appearance in this, the second. Sam Fuller, a pet of the European filmmaking community, also makes a brief appearance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerome Koening, Hanna Schygulla, (more)
- 1994
This controversial Italian documentary, which is part of a trilogy by Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai, profiles the political career of mayoral candidate and leader of the neo-fascist Alleanza Nazionale party, Alessandra Mussolini (granddaughter of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini). The film does not paint a flattering portrait of the politician, and she launched an unsuccessful campaign to have the film banned. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This Israeli drama is based on Yaakov Shabtai's novel Past Continuous and tells the story of three men living in Tel Aviv. Caesar loves his wife and son; he is devastated that they have separated. Now he leads a miserable life in a run-down apartment shared with the sluggardly Israel, a dead-beat musician. Together the two set off to attend the funeral of their friend Goldman's father. Unfortunately, they cannot find the right cemetery. Later the story shifts to their complex love lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Haunting and deeply personal, this stylized film reflects director Amos Gitai's feelings and response to the 1995 assassination of Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin. Essentially a series of images shot from a moving vehicle in key Israeli and Polish cities, with a focus on the death place of Prime Minister Rabin, the film is narrated by several notable personalities reading passages from the writings of Josephus Flavius, a Jewish commander who lead the Israeli Jews in a desperate bid to keep the Romans out of their holy land in 73 A.D. The Hebrews lost and Josephus was allowed to live, provided he write a history of the devastating battle from the Roman viewpoint. Interspersed amongst the readings and the moving scenes are a few exquisitely sad songs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Those interested in the complexities of Israeli politics will be most in tune with this documentary exploration of the reaction that followed the assassination of leader Yitzhak Rabin in late 1995. The film's centerpiece is a three-part interview with Lea, Rabin's widow. This is interlaced with interviews with rock singer Aviv Geffen, the last person Rabin embraced, and military leaders Uri Simchoni and Avner Hakohen, both of whom served with Rabin in the 1973 war. Filmmaker Amos Gitai also offers his own personal insights and reactions as well as those from passerby. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Amos Gitai wrote and directed this Israeli documentary diary in which the filmmaker reflects on his role as a 23-year-old soldier in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, incorporating super-8mm footage he shot at that time. Gitai interviews survivors of a mission when a helicopter was shot down over Syria. Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The directors of this 16mm French-Israeli documentary, Palestinian Elia Suleiman (Chronicle of a Disappearance) and Israeli Amos Gitai, travel from Paris to the War and Peace Film Festival in Vesoul. On the train, the longtime friends chat about their pasts in Haifa and Nazareth, their passports, and foreign travel. In Vesoul, they meet with both the festival director and the French-speaking press (with Gitai translating for Suleiman). Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Amos Gitai directed this Israeli-French family comedy-drama, the second film in a trilogy about contemporary Israeli cities. A Jewish woman, Hanna (Hanna Maron), runs a bakery with her Arab husband Yussef (Yussef Abu Warda), while their son Moshe (Moshe Ivgi) has problems with his wife Didi (Dalit Kahan). With a proposed retail mall in the future, Yussef feels there are inherent political implications if he were to sell the bakery to the Israeli developer. Shown at the Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moshe Ivgi, Hanna Maron, (more)
- 1998
Two decades after highlighting the growing pains of Israel in his 1978 documentary The House, director Amos Gitai reveals how each successive resident of the longstanding residence serves as a metaphor for the conditions in the young nation. By exploring the surrounding neighborhood, Gitai underscores the volatile conditions experienced by the Israelis who chose to settle in this part of Jerusalem while casting a light on the suffering experienced by the expropriated Palestinian family that contends with the pain of seeing something that was once theirs, and knowing that they'll never have it again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Noted Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai directs this documentary about the history of Zionism, focusing particularly on the life and work of Theodor Herzl, who founded the movement in 1897. Gitai features not only standard interviews with a number of historians and journalists, but also more lyrical imagery such as a woman reading the Old Testament over family photographs. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Efratia Gitai
A dark drama of women living in a society where they are second-class citizens, Kadosh/Sacred begins with Meir, an Orthodox Jew living in the Mea Shearim district of Jerusalem, greeting the day with his morning prayers, which includes the phrase, "Thank you, oh Lord, for not having made me a woman." Meir begins to understand just how poorly regarded women can be in the Orthodox faith when his rabbi suggests he should leave his wife. Meir and Rivka (Yael Abecassis) have been married for ten years and have a solid relationship based on affection and mutual respect. However, they have been unable to have children, and as Meir is reminded, the Talmud says a woman without children may as well be dead. Consequently, the rabbi advises Meir to divorce Rivka and take up with a younger woman who can give him a family. Meanwhile, Rivka's younger sister, Malka (Meital Barda), is soon to wed Yossef (Uri Ran Klauzner) in a match arranged by their parents, even though Malka loves another man, Yaakov (Sami Hori), who has dared to question the teachings of the Orthodox faith. Yossef soon proves to be blind to Malka's emotional and physical needs, and she begins to wonder how long she can continue to live within this circle, even though it is the only world she knows. Destined to be controversial in its native Israel, Kadosh/Sacred was shown in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yaël Abecassis, Yoram Hattab, (more)
