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Mood:
- GloomySincereTouchingBittersweet
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Plot:
- Crumbling MarriageHuman NatureCouple RelationsInfidelityParents and ChildrenSocial DifferencesCity LifeSociety more...
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Genres:
- DramaForeign
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Time/Period:
- Contemporary
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Place:
- IsraelUrban
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Style:
- Ensemble Cast
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Based on:
- Based on Book
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Attitudes:
- SeriousRealisticSlow
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Alila, 2003
Hebrew
Israel, France
Profile of Alila
Alila can be described as gloomy, sincere, and bittersweet. The plot revolves around city life, a crumbling marriage, and social differences. The main genres are drama and foreign. In terms of style, Alila stars an ensemble cast. In approach, it is serious and realistic. The storytelling is slow paced. Alila is set, at least in part, in an urban environment. It is located in Israel. It takes place in contemporary times. Alila is based on a book.
Summary of Alila
Amos Gitai paints a vivid, gritty portrait of life in modern-day Israel with this multi-character study of intertwining lives in and around a Tel Aviv apartment complex. Ezra (Uri Klauzner) is a building contractor who sleeps in his van with his illegal Asian immigrant workers outside his ex-wife Mali's (Hanna Laslo) door while building an extension to the building, much to the annoyance of the elderly residents, one of whom is a concentration camp survivor. Meanwhile, the son of Ezra and Mali, Eyali (Amit Mestechkin) runs away from his mandatory stint in the Israeli army and Mali's friend, the beautiful, troubled Gabi (Yael Abecassis) has a rendezvous with her married lover Hezi (Amos Lavie) for some loud, torrid sex scenes in one of the rooms. The camerawork here is first rate, capturing the action in a series of extended single takes separated by fadeouts with the camera moving through, inside and out of the apartment building and elsewhere in Tel Aviv, capturing the city's rundown vibe. Director-writer Gitai adds a voice-over to the credits in one of the film's many unusual touches. A prolific chronicler of Israeli life whose films include KADOSH (2000) and KIPPUR (2000), Gitai gives his actors a lot of room to improvise, and the performances in ALILA are generally strong, with the lovely Abecassis a standout. The story is based on a book by Yehoshua Kenaz.
Details
| Language: | Hebrew |
| Country: | Israel, France |
| Release date: | 27 February 2004 |
| Runtime: | 122 min |
Cast and Crew
as Ezra
as Gabi
Photos
Critics Reviews
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
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- by: Liam Lacey
The New York Times
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- by: Stephen Holden
