MichAel etherton, operations Director, ukJFF One of the most enigmatic films of recent years, Beaufort picked up a clutch of international awards when it first came out in 2007, marking a new milestone in Israeli
cinema.An unrelenting tension forms the uncomfortable counterpoint to the
DeBorAh Brooks, Jr reviewer For me, Israel has provided most of the cultural highlights of the decade. One film, brought to my attention by the excellent UK Jewish Film Festival, stood out; its colourful imagery, fantastical storyline and beautiful dialogue are firmly imprinted in my memory long after I’ve seen it.Written by Shira Geffen and directed by her husband Etgar Keret, Jellyfish (2007) has three interwoven stories, each featuring a TelAviv woman as its centrepiece: a waitress who finds an abandoned child, a bride on her (farcical) honeymoon and a Filipino carer who speaks no Hebrew and is pining for her family. Through these stories we get a great insight into modern Israeli life that spans the generations and classes. The film is funny, sad, haunting and beautiful and has as much to say about being a human being in the world as it has to say about being an Israeli.
lives of this group of young IDF soldiers, who are charged with defending an isolated hilltop outpost in the final days before withdrawal. For me what sets this film apart is director Joseph Cedar’s uncanny ability to convey an almost mystical vision, as well as the unexpected and playful tenderness of these soldiers in their relations with each other. Sometimes funny, always disturbing, Beaufort highlights with astonishing clarity the subtle disjoint between the lives of these men, controlled by distant commanders of dubious motives, and the wider world. What rings true, above all, are the minutiae of the relationships and the resignation of these men to their dire situation. This is a film that resonates long after you have left the cinema.
film
JuDith MirzoeFF, Jr reviewer Ari Folman’s animated film Waltz with Bashir was startlingly innovative when it came out in 2008. There may have been animated documentaries before but none with this force. Folman becomes the narrator in his own story after a friend tells him about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by vicious dogs. Linking the dream to their Israeli Army service in the LebanonWar in 1982, Folman finds that he himself doesn’t remember anything about it. He decides to interview old friends and comrades, jolting his memories, which begin to return in surreal images, including the one which gives the film its bizarre title. Waltz with Bashir eventually confronts the realities of the Sabra and Chatila massacres and the effects on the young Israelis of standing by and allowing them to happen. The cartoon style, which should be distancing, is in fact very effective in creating a nightmare world of heightened drama. It remains unforgettable.
34 JeWish renAissAnce octoBer 2011
JuDy ironsiDe, Director, ukJFF Lemon Tree is a sincere attempt to reflect on the human being as an individual caught up in an area of ongoing conflict and hatred. With his sensitive touch, Eran Riklis steps back from the heat of war and focuses instead on a lemon grove and the people who live within and around this sour and fruitful territory.Whilst he focuses on this oasis of fertility, he creates his cinematic drama with both intense close-ups and broad views of the lemon grove and the human drama being played out to fight for its survival. In this way he elicits a very emotional and personal response from his audience.When a film such as Lemon Tree can chase an audience from their comfort zone, and require them to look through a different lens, then I think that film has merit and certainly gets my vote.
h i g h l i g h t s
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60