The Israeli Oscar babies

November 11, 2010 - 10:03 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, Movies, Pop Culture 

My sons had their film debut this month, and I finally got around to actually seeing the movie. As the babies playing one secretary’s single baby for about a four-minute stretch in Eran Riklis’ “The Human Resources Manager,” they had way more time on-screen than I expected, so that I could actually see which one was in which screen. (Just so you know, it’s Lev who’s crying in Mark Ivanir’s arms in the first piece, Ziv who’s crawling on the floor and Ziv again in the infant seat. And no, didn’t get to meet Guri Alfi or Gila Almagor during filming.)

It was fairly thrilling to see them up on the big screen, and you want to let the rest of the theater know that it’s your kids up there, even though the experience of filming them was a pain in the neck. And I wouldn’t do it again. But hey, seeing their little faces up there? Pre-talking and still crawling? Priceless. And we did stay until the very end to see their names almost at the end of the credits, as well as let two fellow moviegoers know that the baby/ies in the movie were ours.

Of course, we were NOT invited to any premiere — if there even was one — and I am not holding out any hope of getting to the Academy Awards ceremony if the movie — Israel’s nomination for Best Foreign Language film for the Oscars — does become one of the five top-runners. At this point, all I want is a free copy of the film so that the boys will believe us when we tell them they were in a movie when they were just one year old.

But I did like it. And imagine if it does win the Oscar…

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And the winner is… Human Resources Manager

September 23, 2010 - 7:33 PM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Movies, Pop Culture 

A scene from Ophir-winning 'The Human Resources Manager'

Yes, the presentation of the Ophir Awards – Israel’s equivalent to the Academy Awards – is like watching a Mahane Yehuda tomato vendor getting forced to dress up in a tuxedo for the night. But given that the budget for the show, which took place on Tuesday night at the Jerusalem Theater and was broadcast across the country, is a fraction of what Hollywood invests into their annual self-congratulatory fest, the Israelis didn’t do too badly.

Eran Riklis’s The Human Resources Manager was the big winner at the awards, winning Best Picture and Best Director for Riklis. In addition, the film’s Rosina Kambus won Best Supporting Actress and Noah Stollman won for Best Screenplay (which was based on an A. B. Yehoshua novel), and it also picked up the Best Soundtrack award.

And most importantly, the film, which tells the story of a Jerusalem factory manager who goes to Russia to bury a foreign worker killed in a terrorist attack, will now go on to be Israel’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Last year, the film “Ajami” became the third Israeli movie in a row to be nominated in the foreign language category as one of the final top five films. In 2008, Waltz With Bashir was nominated, and previous year the film Beaufort was nominated – but none of them received the award.

According to Jerusalem Post film critic Hannah Brown, approximately 65 countries submit films for consideration in this category each year, “so the fact that Israel has made it to the final five for three years running is an amazing achievement. However, no country has received more than three consecutive nominations since 1980, which means it is unlikely (but not impossible) that Israel will be back in Hollywood again in 2011.”

Human Resources Manager beat out front runner, Nir Bergman’s Intimate Grammar, based on a novel by David Grossman
about a sensitive boy who stops growing. The Riklis film recently won the Audience Award at the Locarno Film Festival and competed in the Toronto International Film Festival.

The three other nominated films were Avi Nesher’s The Matchmaker (formerly called Once I Was), The Flood and Revolution 101, but the race was always between Riklis and Bergman, according to Brown.

Whatever the results, the evening proved that as uncomfortable the Israeli film industry is in aping the glitziness of Hollywood, it’s just as skillfull at making first class films that will continue to impress audiences around the world.

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Waiting to see if Bashir wins

February 22, 2009 - 12:36 PM by · 4 Comments
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture, War 

Anticipation is already building in Israel today, as people across the country wait to discover if the Israeli movie Waltz with Bashir will win an Oscar at tonight’s ceremony in Los Angeles.

Certainly things look pretty good for the critically acclaimed movie by Ari Folman. It’s already won a string of prestigious awards – from a Golden Globe to an award for the best documentary from the Writers Guild of America, and gambling Web sites are predicting that the Israeli contender for the best foreign film is the most likely of all the entries to win the award.

Critics have also indicated that the movie, which deals with Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, is their favorite for the prize as – aside from its moving and powerful story – it also breaks new cinematic ground. Critic David Carr, from The New York Times, urged readers to “Put a nickel on Bashir, and keep it there.”
We all love it here when an Israeli film (musician, artist, model etc. etc.) makes good. Last year hopes were high for Beaufort, another moving anti-war film also set in Lebanon, but it was pipped at the post.
For all the success of Folman’s movie, however, there are rumblings of discontent amongst certain sectors of society who feel this, the eighth Israeli Oscar contender, but the one most likely to win, is an anti-Israeli movie.
Folman’s effort to piece together his memories as a combat soldier of the Lebanon War, and particularly the massacre at the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camp in Beirut, are regarded as unjustly demonizing Israel.
Stung by the criticism, one of the film’s backers, the US Foundation for Jewish Culture and Makom, has put out a study guide explaining why the film isn’t unfair. The guide is based on Israel’s own investigation into Sabra and Shatilla, gives the history of the battle, and charts its aftermath.
But why does criticism of Israel’s actions or behavior in a war have to be anti-Israeli? Folman’s film, like Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort before it, is a profound attempt by a soldier to examine a very painful part of his own history and that of his country. It’s soul-searching at its deepest level. And what it reveals about Israel is that this soul searching, doubt and regret is a fundamental part of who we are.
In the media, particularly during the Gaza war, but in many wars and conflicts, Israel is often portrayed as a militaristic nation that doesn’t really give a damn about who gets hurt. Films like Beaufort, and Waltz with Bashir, may not be easy viewing, but they show a completely different truth.

Golden Globe for Waltz with Bashir
Bashir still dancing

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