Israeli cinema, as usual, is in the midst of a culture war. One question is what kind of films should be made, who should make them, and how, if at all, they should be financed. A more specific question concerns the Shomron Fund, which promotes filmmaking in the disputed region, and therefore became controversial itself.
Two domestically produced feature films that have now been released are another chapter in the ongoing war. “Burning Earth” by Liran Shtrit did not receive the support of the Shomron Foundation, or any other foundation, but it was filmed in the region and deals with the youth of the hills, and the director expressed support for the foundation and its goals. The artistic director of the foundation is Rabbi Mordechai Vardi, who is also the director of “Akra “, a film that has nothing to do with Samaria, but does take place as far away from Tel Aviv as possible – at the Hasidic of Breslav in Safed.
“Burning Earth” is the first feature-length film dealing with the youth of the hills and settler violence, a subject that was previously discussed only in short films and docu-films.
The film is about a young man, played by Assaf Hertz, who comes from a broken home. His father is not around, and his mother works as a hacker. This is the type of movie that falls into the “Madonna/Whore” mold, where women are either prostitutes or saints. Later the hero will meet a vineyard owner who turns out to be an angel who fell from the sky. Complex representation of women is not the strong point here.
The young man loses his way, and the way eventually leads him to join the youth of the hills. There, under the influence of a fanatic rabbi, played by Nati Ravitz, he deteriorates into acts of violence. At the center of these is the throwing of a Molotov cocktail that leads to the death of a child – a case that, unfortunately, of course echoes reality. All this takes place in the Samaria region, most of the time it is filmed here as if it were Switzerland. Only the figure of Heidi the mountain girl is missing.
On the one hand, it is a very local film. He does not try in any way to pander to the international audience, and does not give context to what is happening. A foreign viewer who is not familiar with Israeli history will not understand what is happening. Instead, he focuses on specific conflicts within the settlements and the Israeli right – between the movement led by the rabbi and other approaches.
On the other hand, the film’s script template and its style of action draw from the DNA of British and American cinema. The story of a confused and unemployed young man, caught in a circle of violence, could easily have been the story of a London football hooligan. The scenes in the protagonist’s childhood neighborhood seem taken from American crime films on white-trash trailers, and the action sequences are also inspired by Hollywood cinema, because of their setting on a hill they do not recall more contemporary genres, but battle scenes from historical epics about the Middle Ages.
It is impossible not to appreciate the director Liran Shtrit. A young man who did not receive any support from the establishment, who makes films while all his peers dream of writing a series, and managed to make the best of the nothing he had at his disposal. The film is not boring throughout its 90 minutes, the game displays are good, and the landscape shots are impressive. The music, which the director took the trouble to record with an orchestra in Hungary, is really impressive.
So much for the artistic appreciation. It is impossible to discuss “burning earth” without also referring to ideology. There were already those who tried to sell it as a “right-wing film”. Well, he is not, just like most Israeli films that sell themselves or are defined by others as “leftist” are not.
There is no particularly interesting statement in “Scorching Earth”, and there is no reason for anyone to attack it. In the end, like most Israeli films, of course, it’s pretty lame. What is he saying? that extremist leaders are a dangerous thing, and that violence leads to violence. There is no deep digging into Israeli society, criticism of something in the consensus or any challenging message. In short, don’t rush to call the fire department.
We will end with another word of appreciation for director Liran Shetrit. Creators who define themselves as liberals may attack him. just what? “Burning Earth” bothers to introduce Arab characters, even if as supporting characters. Some of them commit acts of violence, some are also victims, but in any case they exist. In most other Israeli films this year, even this is not there – so don’t preach to him.
“Barrenness” is a film made from within ultra-Orthodox society, but does not hesitate to attack it. As the name implies, it deals with a childless couple. As part of their efforts to bring a child into the world, its heroine turns to anyone who offers help, and unfortunately there are those who take advantage of her plight. One of them Posing as a God-fearing man who offers magic solutions, but turns out to be a sexual predator who attacks her.
The film breaks a taboo and talks about rape in ultra-Orthodox society, and also shows that in response to the fact, many in the heroine’s environment choose to blame the victim, and come to her with allegations instead of bringing the perpetrator to justice or making sure that such cases do not repeat themselves. The secular observer may say critical words about the Orthodox world here, but he should ask himself if in the secular environment we react to such cases in a more appropriate way.
The film spans 108 minutes. Sometimes they are monotonous, but overall the viewing is fascinating and exposes us to the whole world and to interesting halachic questions. A recurring motif here is scenes of blowing the shofar and dialogues about “blowing” and “blowing”. Over the years we’ve seen a lot of phallic symbols in cinema, but I don’t remember this particular symbolism, and it adds a bit more bluntness and uniqueness to the result. As usual in the genre, most of the actors are completely secular who play ultra-Orthodox, for example Milli Eshet and Gil Frank. Everyone is doing a great job.
Both “Burning Earth” and “Barren” are currently showing in cinemas. Journalists from the right side of the political map have argued many times in recent years that Israeli cinema has failed commercially for one reason: because it only provides us with films about the suffering of Palestinians at the checkpoints. So there you have it, a film about the youth of the hills that was shot in Samaria, and a film by a rabbi who is the artistic director of the Shomron Fund, which deals with the ultra-orthodox society in Safed. Now it’s the turn of those who complained to go to the cinema, make the films commercial successes and make sure that there will be more like them in the future. And if you don’t support them – don’t cry later and don’t complain to others.
Avner Shavit is the film critic of Walla!