The 23rd Israel Film Festival opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York on October 29th with honors bestowed to director Edward Zwick, producer Irwin Winkler, and actor Danny DeVito. The opening night selection was the film “Lost Islands.” Director Reshef Levy’s first feature film is an intimate portrait of an Israeli family unit in the 1980s. It’s inventive and refreshing in the way it dodges traditional issues and dilemmas in Israeli society by focusing instead on complex relationships between the many siblings in the Levi family. The near-complete ignorance of political discussion, save for the occasional ironic, future-looking reference to Israel’s leadership, makes room for further exploration of the human interaction of the family. Levy’s film lacks the awesome captivating power of director Eytan Fox’s recent productions “Walk on Water” and “The Bubble,” but there’s something increasingly compelling about the story and characters as the movie continues along. For 103 minutes, this family is the center of attention and they’re full of interesting surprises and occasional endearing humor. “Lost Islands” has already received a number of awards from the Israeli Film Academy, including mentions for lead actor Michael Moshonov and supporting actor Shmil Ben Ari. Moshonov does a fine job as protagonist Erez, though Oshri Cohen, who plays his brother Ofer, deserves equal credit. Ben Ari has a wonderful Javier Bardem-like quality to him that makes his performance entirely irresistible. Yuval Scharf also deserves a notable mention for her portrayal of Neta, the girl whose love is shared between Erez and Ofer. It’s really a remarkably strong cast well-matched by a smart script. The movie has a terrific jaded feel, as if it’s a time capsule snapshot of a place to which people yearn to get back. It’s a pleasant memory, and an effective, moving one at times which should certainly be seen by American audiences whenever it is released in the United States.
B+
More information on the 23rd Israel Film Festival, running through November 13th, is available at http://ny.israelfilmfestival.com.
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