2006, Israel
Adventure, Drama, Romance, War
READ THE REVIEW AT The Desert Sun.
It is hard enough to traverse love's minefield without having to cross a military checkpoint to visit a lover.
Love, Israeli-style, is a difficult task in Eytan Fox's thoughtful examination of social and political boundaries in Tel Aviv. Though it begins with a lighthearted jab at "Sex and the Tel Aviv city," it ultimately makes a blunt anti-war statement.
As reluctant Israeli soldier Noam (the charming Ohad Knoller) returns from his duty at the checkpoint, he is reunited with his two exuberant roommates. Free thinking and free loving, the group is part of a peace movement, Rage Against the Occupation. Living in the city, their viewpoint is often sheltered within a bubble -- one that allows them to remain slightly naive to the risks in enemy territory as politics are fought from a distance.
In a chance meeting while crossing borders, Ashraf (Yousef Sweid) tracks down the kind soldier who attempted to help a Palestinian woman in distress, and he and Noam soon become lovers. Though he participates in RAO meetings and even poses in posters for their upcoming rave, Ashraf is a quiet study as he holds home close to his chest and far from the others.
Though the other roommates also traverse winding paths to love, Noam and Ashraf are the tender heart of the story. Not only gay but a Jew and an Arab, the two have much to keep secret outside of their trusted clique. Their story is reflected in the play they attend, Bent, about Nazi concentration camp prisoners, one labeled with a pink triangle and the other a yellow star. Their love, like that of Noam and Ashraf, must overcome forbidden taboos and the dangers that surround them.
Fox manages to deliver a story about young and lovely idealistic rebels without being heavy handed or depressing. In the characters' efforts to unite with their enemies, they prove the absurdity of humanity's tendency for war. Despite the struggle to achieve their goals, there is hope in their mission and hope in the film.