Vancouver International Film Festival 2007

Review by Zandro Salvo.

The first film offering from acclaimed Israeli authors Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen, “Jellyfish” is a well-constructed original work. The poetic tale takes full advantage of the ensemble cast as their interwoven stories provide just the right amount of dramatic sting and comedic current. Keret and Geffen masterfully connect the lives of a down-and-out waitress, a rebellious photographer, a Filipina care-giver, the surly mother of a struggling actress, a suicidal author, and a honeymooning couple. In each of their individual struggles we find the over arching need to connect. While at times dreamy and euphoric, the simplicity of the message is never lost.

“Jellyfish” provides a refreshing take on how we deal with isolation and how we are sometimes forced to forge the relationships that we truly need to feel complete. Keret and Geffen personify their love for story telling in the suicidal author who refuses to kill herself until she perfects her suicide note. Her death comes when she finds the writing of a jealous new bride. The poem, character, and film as a whole playfully but accurately define how we use our relationships to both cause and cure the pains of isolation.

Jellyfish
Etgar Keret/Shira Geffen | Israel/France | 2007 | 78min

Tue. Oct. 2 | 7:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Mon. Oct. 8 | 3:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre

Review by gloria wong.

"Once, not long ago, a small Egyptian police band got lost in Israel... Not many people remember this. It wasn't very important." And so begins Eran Kolirin's charmingly small-scaled cross-cultural comedy The Band's Visit, a hugely popular prize-winner at this year's Cannes Film Festival..

When their Israeli hosts fail to meet the visiting band at the airport, the band's proud and buttoned-up leader Haled orders them onto a bus, only to get them lost in the middle of nowhere (they end up in Bet Hatikva instead of Petah Tikva - say it out loud for some fun). With little other recourse, Haled reluctantly accepts help from the local diner owner, the beautiful and thoroughly modern Dina (played by Ronit Elkabetz), who strongarms another local into boarding half of the band at his house that night, while she takes in Haled and Tawfiq, the band's resident ladies' man. The remainder of the movie follows the band members as they interact with the locals on a hot Summer night, breezily addressing political and personal differences with a very light touch.

The Band's Visit
Eran Kolirin | Israel | 2007 | 86min

Tue. Oct. 2 | 11:00am | Empire Granville Theatre
Tue. Oct. 9 | 7:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Thur. Oct. 11 | 1:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre

Review by Gorrman Lee.

Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort, which won the Best Director Award at the Berlin Film Festival, tells the true story of a 22-year-old Israeli military outpost in the heart of Lebanon. The outpost, called Beaufort, symbolizes Israeli control, and the soldiers who died to create it. The film focuses on Commander Liraz Liberti and the troops stationed to defend Beaufort from Hezbollah in the days leading up to Israel’s decision to dismantle Beaufort altogether and withdraw from their 18-year occupation of Lebanon.

Beaufort is a war film that, like many recent films, is actually anti-war. We never see the opposing Hezbollah soldiers; we only hear and see the impacts of the constant artillery shelling upon Beaufort. We never see great heroism, only tragic deaths that serve no purpose and gain no ground. Not a single gun is fired, and not a single Hezbollah soldier is killed in this film. Instead, Beaufort is about the futility of war. Why must Commander Liraz sacrifice the lives of his men, and his own belief in the military, to defend an outpost that the Israeli Defense Force will destroy in a matter of days?

The film is beautiful in its honesty, and in the care that the director took to depict these events. It is meticulously acted and photographed, and the few action sequences are dripping with tension and atmosphere. What we are treated to in Beaufort is not heroism, or the bond between soldiers; instead, the film is simply about feeling lost in events beyond our control. It is about great sacrifice for absolutely nothing.

Beaufort
Joseph Cedar | Israel | 2007 | 125min

Sat. Sept. 29 | 9:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Sun. Sept. 30 | 9:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Mon. Oct. 1 | 1:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre