Palaest recommended

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Chad Shiira Rafi hangs out with the bad boys. Even though Tami Gerlick(Hani Furstenberg) is accompanied by her mother and older sister, the boys still badger the schoolgirl about her reputation. "Is it true you put out?" challenges the ringleader, in a leering singsong voice that Tami mistakes as flattery. On some level, she likes the attention; she feels safe, in spite of the sexual innuendo-laced taunting, because Rafi is with them, her protector. Rachel(Michaela Eschet) confronts the boy for disrespecting her little gosling, but the admonitory words do nothing to deter his predatory stance. Everybody knows that the mother has been widowed for over a year. Without any man to protect this family of women, he knows that Tami Gerlick is fair game. He also knows that the Zionist elders will excuse any prospective transgressions, as "Medurat Hashevet" tells the story of a mother's struggle to raise her daughters under a patriarchal construct. Once the littlest Gerlick decides to brave the hinterlands of secularity at an outdoor religious function, the outcome results in the wavering of Rachel's blind faith towards her Zionism, since Motkeh(Assi Dayan), the monolithic leader of a settlers' movement, tells the single parent candidate to remain silent, after Rafi, the disappointing knight in shining armor, acts like a mere boy for Tami in her time of need. Disillusioned, and resigned to accepting her sex's place in the designs of officious men, Rachel surrenders the settlement plans she had for the West Bank, in order to join her daughter in those same hinterlands, where she can watch over Tami, and the other daughter, the older and rebellious Esti(Maya Maron), with the help of a new boyfriend, the fifty-something-year-old virgin, Yossi(Moshe Ivgy).Tired with the campfire songs of her youth group at the official bonfire, Tami suggests to a friend that they join the other fire-starters across the woods: Rafi's hoodlum friends, who had boldly objectified her despite the presence of an attending parent. Prior to this momentous decision, the filmmaker shows us Tami's inquiring mind at work(groundwork for the girl's culpability during her attack), in a scene where the girl positions herself towards a separating wall to get an earful of the extracurricular activities in Esti's room. Tami is made more worldly than your average Israeli girl, in due part to the filmmaker's American sensibility, best exemplified when the girl puts on a record and starts to dance around the empty apartment, a scene which seems lifted out of a Hollywood chick flick. As she sings to her reflection, all that's missing is the hairbrush. The lewd campfire song that sung by Rafi and his friends gives Tami's fledgling female camper pause, but not the precocious adolescent, who's not shy about telling a bawdy joke(like Minnie Driver in Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting") around the alternate campfire. As she gets to the part of her story which involves the first base of erogenous zones, the camera conspires with Tami's attackers by suppling them an alibi, as the camera tilts down to a corresponding breast while she narrates; it's a prompting with an undertone of inevitability, the prelude to a rape, including a grope session before the filmmaker omits the gross breach in amity by an aggregate of restraining hands and cruel torsos. That subtle tilt of the camera suggests a girl who turned her attacker(s) on: a girl who was asking for it. For some viewers, the act of dramatized rape works as a base fetish, so the decision to keep the rape off-screen seems like a respectful one. But by keeping the rape a secret from the viewer(as Tami keeps it a secret from her mother and sister), her continuing adoration of Rafi is made possible. After all, he allowed it to happen, like one of those bar patrons in Jonathan Kaplan's "The Accused". Adding insult to injury, the boys spray-painted her misdeed in stone all over the Zionist jurisdiction of the town. And Rafi let the lie remain there without any gesture towards concealing the affronting words with paint(as Rachel and Esti do). Instead of the cowardly boy making amends with the debased girl, "Medurat Hashevet" shows us the harmful effects of a governing patriarchal mindset when Tami seeks out Rafi, asking him for forgiveness, and expressing surprise in his ongoing interest for her. Tami feels like she's damaged goods. Does the filmmaker feel the same way, too? In other words, is the film critical of God, or the girl? Since Rachel breaks away from her faith, "Medurat Hashevet" has the outward appearance of having contemporary ideas about women, but the handling of Tami's rape seems like a compromise, in which Zionism isn't thrown under a bus and completely trampled by feminism.

DICK STEEL Campfire (Medurat Hasevet) marks the last film for me during the Israel Film Festival, and personally, I thought this film was the most mature of the lot, being honest in exploring the lives and relationships in all members of a single parent family. Being all women in the house, recently widowed Rachel Gerlik (Michaela Eshet) takes great pains in order to protect her daughters Esti (Maya Maron) and Tami (Hani Furstenberg) from growing pains, and it is in the characters that we see an observation of romance in three forms.For Rachel, it is a second chance at real romance. She admits to her daughters that she has never been in love, not even with their father, and opportunity comes in the form of Yossi (Moshe Ivgy) the bus driver, who's attentive and sincere, and while having his own awkward moments at professing his love, you're likely to root for him to get his girl. Rachel though has her hands full, in juggling a fight to be accepted by her community in order to relocate to the new West Bank settlement to start life afresh, now made complicated by a potential love, and in trying to reconnect with her daughters.In elder daughter Esti, we see budding puppy love, as well as her very distinct opposition with her mom, stemming from Rachel's refusal to provide her with some privacy at home. I guess every parent will have to face their kids at this point in their teenage lives, and hopefully live to tell the tale of triumphant tolerance in the face of constant cynicism. And lastly, probably the saddest of the lot, with Tami and her brush with one ugly emotion of Lust. The English title at least, refers to a pivotal moment in the story which involves around the Bonfire incident, and you can't help but seethe with rage, where writer-director Joseph Cedar succeeds in eliciting anger with a sense of helplessness, and deep despair.What succeeded too is the performance of Hani Furstenberg in fleshing our her character, as we witness her credible spectrum of emotions ranging from the damsel in distress, and in being able to draw strength from within to deal with her terrible ordeal. Her chemistry with Michaela Eshet is quite amazing, and you will definitely be moved at how their characters interact with each other in the dealing with the fallout, even though it was just a short scene. I guess nobody should be made to suffer in that manner without clear repercussions or punishment, but reminds you in real life that sometimes there are situations where you can't expect everything to go in your favour, even though you're right and are seeking justice.Instead, we see how one can face up to adversary in whichever form they take, and through Rachel, we realize that the well intent of others, who subconsciously impose their will and thoughts onto yourself, becomes enslaving, and there comes a time where one must break free. Free from living a life dictated by the community, of the need to conform unnecessarily, and to learn to stand on your own two feet. Michaela Eshet encapsulates this development of her character, and you can't help but to cheer silently when she finally breaks free from a mindset bondage.It might be a small movie with a small principle cast, but its message and lesson couldn't be more than relevant, especially when it comes to the notion of blood being thicker than water, with a mother's love that knows no bounds.

eyal philippsborn The first question that popped in my head once the ending credits appeared, was- should I be offended?This movie, after all, deals with religious-Zionists and I am a movie-buff secular so maybe the depiction of this much maligned (for no justifiable reason, in my humble opinion) sector was credible and not a slanderous attack. I believe I have reached a conclusion.Today, when a new rift in Israel is emerging over the implementation of the disengagement program lead by prime minister, Ariel Sharon, it's easy to relate to the 1981 struggle against the evacuation of the Sinai peninsula after the signing of the historical peace accord with Egypt.1981 found Tammy Gerlik (Hani Furstenberg in a wonderful performance) in a Jerusalemite neighborhood with her older sister and widowed mom who decides to move to a new settlement in the occupied territories with her circle of the religious, patriotic and unified but also hypocrite and mistrusting circle of friends. It also finds Tammy in her teenage years when romantic feelings and self-defining questioning begin to emerge. Her generally cheerful personality suffers a major setback when Tammy is nearly raped by a violent teenager with the cheering of his dubious "buddies". With a mother too self-absorbed, and "friends" that tag her as a promiscuous girl, she finds a soul mate in her rebellious sister that is alienated to her mother for abolishing her chance of privacy in a very boisterously funny scene that involves a hammer (can't elaborate, sorry).In the meantime, the mother, Rachel (Micaela Eshet, in a reasonably good but not much more, performance), is a 42 year old strong woman who had married too early and went through life without falling in love. While shunning as delicately as possible the courting of a highly renowned and severely boring, cantor, she forms a friendship with, Yossi, a bachelor bus driver/ultimate loser who has lost hope of ever conjugating (let alone, wed) an actual woman.With Yossi as a refuge from the pretense of a strong willed woman, Rachel realizes the true nature of her friends, the frailty of their loyalty and worst of all, their obsession of sweeping unflattering phenomena under the carpet, even at the grave price of perpetuating it for posterity. The movie is well acted, credibly written and even manages to give the audience the atmosphere of the early 80's when Israelis had one TV channel to watch, one telephone company and a strong sense of patriotism that is disparaged and demonetized by too many these days.Which brings me to my question in the beginning of this review, should I, the secular guy (who identifies with Yossi the bus driver more than he wishes), should be offended when the religious society is presented in a very critical manner.The answer to that question is simple: when you are offended on behalf of a grown up group for being disparaged, you might be disparaging it yourself by deciding for them how they should feel.I feel, personally, that the director, Yosef Cedar (who grew up in a religious background but is pretty estranged to it, according to his own testimony) decided to "indict" his origins. As a result, the viewer is deprived from an unbiased impression of one of the most enigmatic, controversial and riveting sector in contemporary Israeli society.The movie won as best film in the Israeli Oscar competition and its victory was outshone by the fact that the movie "sof haolam smola" which was one of the most popular films in Israeli history, wasn't even nominated in any of the major categories.Unfair representation of "Sof haolam smola" in the Israeli Oscar robbed the movie of the buzz it could have generated. Also, the film's unfair representation of a certain sector in the Israeli society left me questioning its antagonism, rather than enjoy its undeniable qualities. Qualities it hones in abundance.8.5 out of 10 in my FilmOmeter.

ft-5 I've just seen the second screening of this film at the berlinale.joseph cedar is hardly known at all in germany and so i thought i'd seen one of these first'n'nice-but-well... movies - and was caught off guard. the movie tell the story of three women (mother and two daughters) living in the israel of 1981.the mother is a widow since one year and the film shows how she and her daughters cope with the situation. so the story sounds simple but the mr. cedar has found a really good way of waving backgrounds around it. as there are the settlements-movement and the male dominated society. he really manages to give an impression of a society by showing people act and live in this society.one of the best movies i saw in months!!