Adventures in Israeli Cinema

After being put off from seeing an Israeli film a few days back because it had no English subtitles, thanks to Israeli friends (Leeat rocks), I was able to see a film I had read about online. The film, in Hebrew is "Ha-Buah," in English, "The Bubble." Basically, the bubble is slang for the life of a group of people in Tel Aviv, Israel's Miami or New York City. The movie centers around 3 roommates, two gay guys and a straight girl (yes, the plot is already dodgy, but hang in there). One of the gay guys is a soldier at a checkpoint in Shechem (Nablus). While home from reserve duty, one of the Palestinians he searched at the checkpoint shows up at his door and enters his life on numerous levels. The movie is directed by Eytan Fox, a prominent Israeli filmmaker known for his controversial films, most of which revolving around gay themes (Fox is gay himself). His movies are often at times very harsh and bordering on the NC-17 level.

So that's the plot and the gist. I had seen Fox's other films (I own two currently) and was excited to finally have someone to see the newest film with who not only understood Hebrew, but would sit through such a film (not everyone has the intestinal fortitude for Eytan Fox and that is understandable). The movie theater was absolutely packed. So you are probably wondering "Wow, this probably really annoyed your friend who had to translate the entire movie for you." Wrong. I didn't need the entire flm translated. I believe that a filmmaker is successful if the viewer can understand the movie despite an obvious language difficulty. Mission: Accomplished.

The end of the film left most of the audience in their seats and absolutely speechless. Hands covering mouths. Tears were even flowing among some of the younger people in the auditorium. I was in awe. Although my political beliefs may not be on the same spectrum as Fox, I think the raw humanity shown in this film was well worth the language barrier.

What this movie also shows is how similar two different people are. Inside everyone is a soul, heart, brain, etc. Too often though we let others dictate what we should feel or think or do. What one chooses to do with these elements, making their own choices or acting upon the will of others, ultimately decides their fate as this movie discusses.

Out of 5 falafel balls: 5.