REVIEWS


FILMS FROM ISRAEL IN THE TORONTO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL 2012


EAGLES Director: Dror Sabo Producers: Lee Yardeni and Aviram Buhris Production Company: My Movies (A My TV Communications Company) Script: Daphna Levin Sales contact: Noa Levy E-mail: noa@myt-v.co.il, eagles@myt-v.co.il


SUN SEP 9 21:30 SCOTIABANK 3 TUE SEP 11 16:00 JACKMAN HALL (AGO) SUN SEP 16 21:30 SCOTIABANK 4


PRESS & INDUSTRY: MON SEP 10 15:30 SCOTIABANK 7 WED SEP 12 19:45 SCOTIABANK 11


FILL THE VOID Director: Rama Burshtein Producer: Assaf Amir Production Company: Norma Productions Script: Rama Burshtein World Sales: The Match Factory / Michael Weber E-mail: Michael.weber@matchfactory.de Website: www.the-match-factory.com


TUE SEP 11 18:45 SCOTIABANK 3 WED SEP 12 12:00 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2 SUN SEP 16 12:30 CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 3


PRESS & INDUSTRY: FRI SEP 7 09:15 SCOTIABANK 11 THU SEP 13 12:00 SCOTIABANK 11


OUT IN THE DARK Director: Michael Mayer Producers: Lihu Roter, Michael Mayer Production Compnaies: M7200, Periscope Productions Script: Yael Shafrir, Michael Mayer World Sales: M-Appeal / Anne Wiedlack E-mail: aw@m-appeal.com Website: www.m-appeal.com


Call Girl Reviewed by Anthony Kaufman


Based on the true story of a prostitution ring that threatened to bring down Sweden’s socialist government in the 1970s, Swedish TV director Mikael Marcimain’s feature debut weaves a vivid tapestry of the period, focusing on three inter- locking areas: a wayward girl seduced into the world’s oldest profession; the fast-living ways of the madam, her husband and their harem; and the police and government offi cials, working towards — and against — her capture. More in line with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (for which Mar-


cimain worked as a second-unit director) than The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, this sometimes convoluted, overlong political thriller lacks a compelling protagonist. But Call Girl attempts to make up for this with a powerful


attention to mood, period detail and a damning argument about the hypocrisies of Sweden’s liberal politic. With fre- quent cutaways to government meetings and campaign promises on the eve of the country’s 1976 election, Marci- main highlights the cruel irony of promoting women’s libera- tion at the same time the country was decriminalising incest and covering up the sexual exploitation of underage girls. Call Girl might make for hot-button fodder in Scandina-


via, but its story of sex and scandal — and ample scenes of sexy, scantily clad women — certainly won’t hurt its market- ability internationally. However, the fi lm does not satisfy the most basic narrative expectations. Most problematic may be the opacity of the characters.


The fi lm singles out the story of one young girl, Iris. Dropped off by her mother at a home for troubled juveniles, the teen- ager slowly fi nds her way into a world of sex parties, and before she knows it, becomes the youngest member of infa- mous Stockholm madam Dagmar Glans’ troupe of hookers. Marcimain’s intention may be to portray Iris as a total


innocent, completely unaware and impervious to changing her fate but in so doing the character is as fl at as a board. The same blankness pervades the stone-faced young detective out to expose the case. The only part given dimension is Glans herself. As played by stalwart Pernilla August, the proud old prostitute turns from motherly to cruel on a dime, sweet-talking Iris one second and slapping her the next. Thus, Call Girl becomes more an extensive mood piece


than a character-driven story — a profound examination of widespread corruption to the disco tunes and brown hues of the 1970s. The era even infects the camera and score, with the fi lm’s use of occasional zooms and pop beats. But it is a cold movie, always keeping its audience at a safe distance, likely to be neither outraged nor moved.


CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA


Swe-Ire-Nor-Fin. 2012. 140mins Director Mikael Marcimain Production companies Garagefi lm International, Newgrange Pictures, Friland Produksjon, Yellow Film & TV International sales TrustNordisk, www. trustnordisk.com Producer Mimmi Spang Executive producers Helena Danielsson, Maria Dahlin Screenplay Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgarten Editor Kristofer Nordin Cinematography Hoyte van Hoytema Production designer Lina Nordqvist, Michael Higgins Music Mattias Barjed Main cast Pernilla August, Sofi a Karemyr, Simon J Berger, Sven Nordin, David Dencik, Ruth Vega Fernandez, Josefi n Asplund, Magnus Krepper, Kristoffer Joner


FRI SEP 7 16:30 CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 10 SAT SEP 8 09:00 CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6 FRI SEP 14 16:30 SCOTIABANK 11


PRESS & INDUSTRY: FRI SEP 7 11:30 SCOTIABANK 11


IGOR AND THE CRANES' JOURNEY Director: Evgeny Ruman Co-Prodution: Israel/Poland/Germany Producers: Chilik Michaeli, Avraham Pirchi, Piotr Mularuk, Emely Christians, Magdalena Napieracz Production Compnaies: United Channels Movies, Yeti Films, Ulysses Film Production Script: Dita Guery, Eitan Londner World Sales: Sola Media GmbH / Tania Pinto Da Cunha E-mail: tania@sola-media.com Website: www.sola-media.com


SAT SEP 8 12:45 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 3 SAT SEP 15 12:00 CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 9


PRESS & INDUSTRY: SUN SEP 9 09:15 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 5 (NBC UNIVERSAL) WED SEP 12 09:00 SCOTIABANK 6


ZAYTOUN Director: Eran Riklis Co-Prodution: United Kingdom / Israel / France Producers: Gareth Unwin, Fred Ritzenberg Production Compnaies: Bedlam Productions, Far Films Script: Nader Rizq World Sales: Pathé International Website: www.patheinternational.com


SUN SEP 9 18:00 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1 TUE SEP 11 21:30 SCOTIABANK 2 SUN SEP 16 15:45 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2


PRESS & INDUSTRY: MON SEP 10 09:15 SCOTIABANK 3 WED SEP 12 09:00 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2


HANNAH ARENDT Director: Margarethe von Trotta Co-production: Germany / Israel / Luxemburg / France Producers: Bettina Brokemper, Johannes Rexin Co-producers: Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Antoine de Clermont-Tonerre, David Silber Production: Heimatfilm, Minotaurus Film, Mact Productions, Metro Communications Screenwriters: Pamela Katz & Margarethe von Trotta World Sales: The Match Factory / Thania Dimitrakopoulou E-mail: thania.dimitrakopoulou@matchfactory.de Website: www.the-match-factory.com


TUE SEP 11 18:00 VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN) – WORLD PREMIERE THU SEP 13 11:00 VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN) SAT SEP 15 19:30 CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6


PRESS & INDUSTRY: SAT SEP 8 16:15 SCOTIABANK 3 WED SEP 12 12:45 SCOTIABANK 10


THE GATEKEEPERS Director: Dror Moreh Co-Prodution: Israel / France / Germany / Belgium Producers: Dror Moreh, Estelle Fialon, Philippa Kowarsky Production Compnaies: Dror Moreh Productions, Les Films du Poisson, Cinephil Distribution & Coproduction World Sales: Cinephil Distribution & Co-Productions / Philippa Kowarsky E-mail: info@cinephil.co.il Website: www.cinephil.co.il


FRI SEP 7 15:00 THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA SUN SEP 9 13:00 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2


PRESS & INDUSTRY: THU SEP 6 11:30 SCOTIABANK 3


Israel Film Fund / tel: 972 3 562 8180, fax: 972 3 562 5992 / info@filmfund.co.il / www.filmfund.org.il The Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation For The Arts / Cinema Project / info@cinemaproject.org.il Tel: +972-3-5255020, +972-3-5254920 / Fax: +972-3-5255130 / www.cinemaproject.org.il


Ministry of Foreign Affairs SUN SEP 2 16:45 (PREMIERE)


September 10, 2012 Screen International at Toronto 13 ■


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