Lost islands is one of the best Israeli movies of recent years.
Set in the 80's, the film tells the story of two teen brothers who live in a small Israeli town. The two twins are quite opposite: Erez dreams of becoming a film maker, the other twin, Ofer, the joker of the family and the mother's favorite son, aspires to join an elite commando unit of the Israeli army. As the father gets involved in a car accident, the two brothers find out that sometimes it's very hard and even impossible to follow your dreams.
The writer and director of Lost Islands, Reshef Levy, has told the media that the movie is freely based on his own childhood experiences. This bitter-sweet drama will make you tear and smile at the same time. Highly-recommended!
Israeli film, "The Debt"(HaChov), starring Gila Almagor and Neta Garty tells the story of three Mossad agents who are sent to Germany in the 60s to catch the surgeon of Trbllinca - a Nazi war criminal. The mission is to bring him to trial in Israel. In a well-planned operation, the three agents catch the Nazi doctor and hold him captive. The doctor provokes the Israeli agents who are emotionally shaken by the whole thing. Then, he suddenly manages to escape. The three decide to tell that the Nazi has killed himself.
How much longer will the big lie last?
The film constantly shifts from past to present. An article is published in a European newspaper, suggesting that the surgeon is still alive. In the present, one of the agent, Rachel Brener is a successful writer who now publishes a new book. The three agents decide that Rachel is the one who will be sent to complete the mission. Will she able to do it? The two actresses who play young and older Rachel Brener do a fantastic job in this film. Unfortunately, not many Israelis movies have been made in [this genre, but this is definitely a very enjoyable thriller that deals with many issues in the Jewish and Israeli identities. In short, watch it!
A few days ago I watched a very interesting Israeli movie called The Band's Visit (Bikur HaTizmoret), which I highly recommend. I don't need to praise any further that highly acclaimed movie that has already won dozens of international awards.
A small Egyptian police band arrives in Israel to play at an initiation ceremony. To their great dismay, no one is there to welcome them at the airport. The band tries to make their way to the Arab cultural center on their own, only to find themselves in a desolate development town, somewhere in the Israeli desert.
The first encounter between the Egyptian police officer and an Israeli woman introduces us to two opposite types of characters. When the officer asks the Israeli woman where the Arab cultural center is located, she firmly responds: "No Arab culture here, no Israeli culture, no culture at all". The Israeli is portrayed as informal with open in mannerism which may even come across as vulgar. The Arab is portrayed as polite, formal and refrained. The two visibly and drastically different individuals form a very unique friendship in the movie. As you might expect from the title, music as at the heart of the film; with great magic it binds people together. This only goes to show how art can create most unusual of human connections.
The Band's Visit was submitted for the Best Foreign Language Film Category in 2008. However, the films was disqualified by the Oscar committee because its dialogues were mostly in English. The irony is that the English spoken by the characters only further emphasizes how foreign these two cultures are to each other. This movies is another example at the dramatic progress that the Israeli cinema has made in the last decade. I'd definitely give us an Oscar!
