John G
We liked this movie because it was about relationships.You really believed in the family relationships and the friendships.However, I can see through some of the plot holes in this film.It is sweet, but the script is not very deep or strong.One of the redeeming qualities it the nudity, without which this movie might be a bit tedious and untrue to the era which it was trying to depict (1968).It did not escape my attention that it was supposed to take place in Eilat, before detente with Egypt, which was then a backwater hoping for the tourist trade, which now has come to pass.The most salient feature is that it highlights some of the tensions between some of the immigrant communities that helped to populate Israel, some policies relating to that have dispossessed Palestinians from their homes.However, let me be clear, this movie shows a part of bonding amongst the many different parts of diaspora Jews, and that is probably the best thing.
FilmCriticLalitRao
It is true that this film was a major hit in Israel and no wonder one can easily guess why ? One wild guess is that it did all it could to portray a hippie dippy picture of the immigrant question.The immigrants in question are from India and Morocco and the film is about their efforts to find a firm footing within Israelian society.The film fails to score as its depiction of immigrants is much too unreal,lacks credibility and to top it all a lot of irrelevant material is added which bears no link to the film's plot line.The Indian actors in this film have been dubbed as failures in India and watching them act in an Israelian film the people wondered as to how they landed such roles for themselves.The game of cricket in a film from Israel like this one was a pure gimmick as the film maker wanted to cash the popularity of this sport in Asian subcontinent.This is a film one must watch only to ascertain what made it so famous.
Rishona01
The year 2004 was a huge film release year in Israel. There were over 100 feature films Israeli films released which is a record number and record-setting numbers went to the theaters in Israel to see many movies. Apparently one in four saw this movie which tells already something. I don't remember once looking at my watch during this movie which says a lot. This movie flowed right through without any dull moment and had many jokes laced throughout. The two young main actresses are both incredibly talented and are both very believable in their parts. The theme of fitting in to new surroundings are universal but never quite so pronounced as when a new wave of immigrants comes into Israel. Also themes of friendships, neighbors, fidelity and others are examined with interesting results. Must see movie!
jacksteeley
To be fair, the movie is more sexually explicit than it needs to be to tell its story, otherwise, I'd have rated it higher.It tells a good story of discrimination between two groups, the Moroccan Jews and the Indian Jews in a tiny town in the desert. It is also about the friendship between two teen-aged girls, Sarah (Indian) and Nicole (Moroccan) in that town. The girls become fast friends despite their differences in personality and their different ethnic backgrounds.We get the story of a labor dispute at the only employer for both the Moroccans and Indians, and how each group deals with it - the differences separating the two communities, despite their common circumstances, how they try to work together, and again are torn apart.There is marital infidelity and sexual awakening among both the girls and the boys, how they cope with it, and the emptiness of some of their solutions.It ends up being both funny and redemptive, in spite of the death of a character.
AD
