Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., July 28, 2008 Tamuz 25, 5768 | | Israel Time: 10:34 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

True to form By Uri Klein Tags: Jerusalem Film Festival The decision by the Jerusalem Film Festival jury to award the Wolgin Prize for the best feature film to "7 Days" ("Shiva") was expected. This year only four full-length feature films were entered into the competition, and only "7 Days," directed by Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz, deserved to be honored with a prize. Despite problems in its structure and screenplay, the film, which will be screened across Israel a few months from now, is an impressive and important work on contemporary Israeli film. The small number of films that were entered into the competition this year is a problem that the festival organizers will have to consider. First of all, they will have to change the rule that allows only movies made on film to participate; this is an obsolete and anachronistic rule that more prestigious festivals have already eliminated. If the Jerusalem festival, in the context of the Israeli film competition, wants to reflect on Israeli cinema today, it must revise its attitude toward modern cinema altogether. Advertisement In contrast to the jury's selection in the feature film category, the selection by the jury for the best documentary film was surprising, to say the least. This year, 11 documentary films participated in the competition and the jury chose to award the prize to the one that appeared to be the most problematic: David Ofek's "The Tale of Nicolai and the Law of Return," which, when screened at the festival raised the question of whether the film was qualified to be included in the documentary film category or should have been entered into the feature film category. Ofek's film was shot after the fact, so that the characters are "playing" themselves and the film tells their story in a way that recreates an event that happened in reality. Is there indeed a problem here? I don't think so. Not under the radar One of the tendencies that characterize the contemporary cinema is the attempt to break though the traditional bounds of the documentary film and mix it up with other kinds of filmmaking. This tendency was in evidence in some of the films that were screened this year at the Cannes Festival, as well as in the films of Chinese director Zhang-ke Jia and Spanish director Jose Luis Guerin and others whose films were screened last week in Jerusalem. What would have happened, for example, had Ari Folman's "Waltz with Bashir," which the director has defined as "an animated documentary film," participated in the Wolgin competition? Would it have been included in the feature film category, or in the documentary category? In my opinion, it should have been able to participate in either of the categories, and either choice would have been legitimate. Similar questions arose at the Jerusalem Festival in 2002, when it was discovered that Hany Abu-Assad's lovely film "Ford Transit," which was defined as a documentary film, included many "staged" scenes. Then, too, it was argued that this "discovery" did not undermine the validity of the film. Do documentary films never include staged scenes? Isn't every act of posing a camera in front of reality an act of staging? Is reconstruction not an acceptable tool in documentary filmmaking? The mixing of documentary and feature film genres is one of the most interesting trends in contemporary film, because it signifies the crisis that cinema is experiencing in its relationship to reality - as well as its attempt to extricate itself from this crisis. I don't know whether the jury members in the competition decided to give Ofek's film the award because it is so current, or because they simply enjoyed the small human comedy's satiric and ironic dimension; either way, it doesn't really matter. I would rather the prize be given to a film like this one, which in its modest way raises a number of the questions that are most relevant to the contemporary cinema, than to a more traditional documentary film, even if it is carefully wrought (like Avida Livny's film "On the Move," which presents the story of Ehud Banai and his band, the Refugees, which is one of the best films ever produced on the history of local music). Notwithstanding, it is a pity that the jury did not give an honorable mention to a film that in my opinion was one of the most unusual and surprising films screened this year in the documentary film competition: "The Green Dumpster Mystery," directed by Tal Haim Yoffe, another documentary film with "staged" and perhaps even fictional elements - and one of the best Israeli films of recent times. In an ostensibly light tone, which balances the serious subjects in the film - history and memory, Holocaust and bereavement - the film tells the story of the director himself who, as he rode his scooter through South Tel Aviv, found a stash of old photographs in a dumpster. In the wake of this find, he sets out on a quest to find the people in the photo. Gradually, as in a very good thriller, in which secrets are revealed with increasing dramatic and emotional force, the director sets the stage for an Israeli family saga. Yoffe succeeds in digressing from a personal story into a drama with symbolic power. This is a serious, complex and important work. The jury's attention should have also turned to "Lake 68," by Irit Shamgar, a lovely documentary film that deals with a number of Polish families, most of them Jewish, who were persecuted by the Communist regime and meet every summer in a beautiful rural area of Poland, where they have built themselves a refuge from the history and memories that accompany them. I loved the restraint, the quiet and the tolerance of this film, which accord a unique style along with a depth of plot and emotion that is different from many of the documentary films produced here. The unmentionables There were also beautiful moments in Liviu Carmely's "The House on Tabenkin Street," which belongs to the genre of personal documentary films that reveal a harsh biographical drama. However, the film suffers from a surfeit of materials and does not take off to become a work of truly compelling dimensions. On the other end of the cinematic spectrum were films like Ibtisim Mara'ana's "Lady Kul El-Arab", which told the story of Duah Fares, who aspired to be the first Druze contender in an Israeli-Arab beauty pageant but was forced to step down. The film got lost in the story it aspired to present, and it lacked a point of view that might have given it shape and depth. In the same breath, there were also films like "It's not Me, It's my Sister" by Sharon Elovic, which dealt with the phenomenon of identical twins and ranged between annoying stridency and sentimentality; "Fog," directed by Rafik Halabi, which through the story of Mo'in Halabi, a relative who was killed in the Yom Kippur War (or perhaps was not?) attends to the Druze community's belief in reincarnation. This film, too, tried to explain a mystery but stylistically it did not add up to more than a report that grew too long. The least successful of the documentary films in the Wolgin competition this year was "A World Without Words," by Yael Reich and Itai Lev, which in a jumpy and pretentious manner told the story of Eilon Reich, Yael's brother, who suffered severe brain damage as a result of a traffic accident. This film evinced a degree of off-putting narcissism that (unwittingly and unwillingly) turned the viewers into voyeurs of a personal family tragedy. Bookmark to del.icio.us   West Bank drought Palestinian Water Authority calls on Israel to rethink its water policies. Death of an artist Egyptian filmmaker's controversial work earned him international recognition.

Read & React Pentagon chief: War with Iran would be 'disastrous' Responses: 45 Israel finally agrees to move separation fence at Bil'in Responses: 20 Moshe Arens: You can't wish away Jerusalem's Arabs Send response Syria envoy to U.S.: Israel has chance for peace with all Arabs Responses: 2 More Headlines 08:51 Israel finally agrees to move separation fence at Bil'in 08:59 Syria envoy to U.S.: Israel has chance for peace with all Arabs 09:35 Pentagon chief: War with Iran would be 'disastrous' 09:29 Israel mulls acquiring U.S. anti-rocket system to protect Sderot 09:43 Rice presses Israel, PA to agree on document ahead of UN meet 07:22 Surf's up - but it's kosher! 10:10 IDF Gaza Division commander suspected of letting son, 14, drive army ATV 10:15 Israeli tourist's body found in Laos; Israeli woman killed in Florida boating accident 09:40 Twin explosions in Istanbul kill 16 people and wound 154 others 05:44 El Al mistakenly flies 8-year-old to Brussels instead of Munich 06:47 Israel concerned leftists plan to send ship from Cyprus to break Gaza blockade 06:54 Why is the U.S. taxpayer funding the failure of American capitalism? Previous Editions Select Day 27 jul 25 jul 24 jul 23 jul 22 jul 21 jul 20 jul 18 jul 17 jul 16 jul 15 jul 14 jul

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Dan Hotels Israel Live the Legend & experience an Unforgettable Summer Vacation Yossi Avrahami Presents: New Luxurious Projects in North Tel Aviv & Eilat Holyland Park Jerusalem Apartment Tower World Class Luxury Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved