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
- 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)
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)
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
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)
- 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
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)
- 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
- 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
- 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
