Time of Favor
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Movie Reviews of Time of Favor
Movie Review: Cuts To The Chase On Being An Israeli..
Summary: 4 Stars
Since this flick came out 8 years ago, a lot has changed.
The West Bank settlers are marginalized as is the Israeli Left.
The issue then was holding onto "captured/liberated" territory depending on your definition or reducing/neutralizing an existential threat from the major Arab powers outside..seeing this movie yesterday, it is almost moot since in this post 911 scenario, Iraqi War, Lebanon War, the real politic is now on containing nuclear threat from Iran not wishful idealist thinking in regard to rebuilding the Third Temple by blowing up the Islamic Dome Of The Rock by a bunch of religious seminary students who take their zeal from a Rabbi spewing forth not hatred of the "other" but idealism that blurs the distinction between the world of the senses and a world beyond appearance.
It is in this context that the filmmaker is clever and insightful being able to portray Israel as either a haven for Jewish suffering whose goal is to be "normal" like anyone else concerned with pleasure and pain or the idealists whose vision of greater Israel as a divine birthright highlights the conflict and resolution between living in the world of experience or the world of the unknown.Israeli society is a fine example of this conflict and the filmmaker captures the tensions well between love of child or G-D, love of land or one's fellow tribesman,jealosy between friends in regard to love and basically seeing reality as reality despite the minds furnishing of it or seeing reality behind ideological blinkers that can distort or enhance again depending on perspective.
The acting is good all around, the action is fast paced catching real glimpses into Israel's religious Zionist Yeshiva world and settler mentality. The movie has nothing to do with Arab Jewish tension but is a careful snapshot of Israeli society years ago whose threat nowadays are the bombardment of it's citizens by the Gaza strip and the all too likelihood of a strike against Iran to maintain her security.
Movie Review: a taut, finely scripted thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
Director/writer Joseph Cedar has crafted a fast paced, riveting thriller around the current themes of ethnic and religious tension in Israel; throw in a love triangle, and you have a nifty, highly entertaining film.
The cast is attractive and the acting excellent, among them Tinkerbell, who plays the love interest, and Idan Alterman (a television comic in Israel) as the rabbi's favorite student Pini, and Abraham Celektar and Amnon Volf as the soldiers Itamar and Mookie, but the two who are most memorable are Aki Avni, who is fabulous as the main hero Menachem (and is a major hunk as well), and Assi Dayan as Rabbi Meltzer.
Dayan gained fame in 1968, when John Huston chose the handsome actor to co-star in "A Walk with Love and Death" (he was known as Assaf Dayan then) and also for his heritage, as his father was the famous general with an eye-patch, Moshe Dayan. Dayan is a multi-talented man, and is brilliant here, as he teaches his students that "whoever does not know that sometimes a dead lion is more alive than the living dog will stay a dog".
The plot of this film concerning the Temple Mount has been around for ages of course, and was one of the central teachings of Meir Kahane (who was gunned down on a NYC street by an Egyptian in 1990), and he had a surprising amount of support, and not just from "the crazies".
Because of its theme, this film will also appeal to people who have an interest in the "end times" and apocalyptic Bible prophesy, and it is refreshingly free of nudity and bedroom scenes.
The script for this award winning film is above average, the cinematography by Ofer Inov very effective, and the score by Jonathan Bar-Giora terrific; the final piece that plays with the credits is fantastic...those in the habit stopping before the credits run, should not miss this song.
This is a film that gets better with repeated viewings, and total time is 102 minutes.
Movie Review: And the 12 Tribes of Israel Continue: A Film that Informs
Summary: 4 Stars
TIME OF FAVOR is one of those unique films that not only entertains with a fine story but also serves as a fine history lesson. At least for those of us who have never understood all of the manifestations and etiologies of the continuing fighting in Israel and the West Bank and Palestine TIME OF FAVOR turns many of the explanations into a tightly woven, tense story that results in revealing at least some of the factions that perplex.
Briefly stated, the story is about a religious company of military men under the influence of a Rabbi who exalts the concepts of the 'last day' and the glory of participating in such a holy war to return the temples of Jerusalem to the Israelis. Within this same settlement is a military company more secularly oriented and suspicious of the 'zealots'. A plot to destroy the Dome of the Rock (a Muslim 'degradation' to the holy place of the Jews) is followed by the secular company in the manner of a pursuit of the religious company.
To ground all of this complex politico-religious detail the director and writer have introduced fully three-dimensional characters in a love triangle: the zealot Rabbi's daughter Michal is supposed to be attracted to her father's top scholar Pini whose best friend Menachem is in reality the man to whom Michal is attracted. It is a time honored test of friendship, loyalty, and the incongruities of love that drive the story to the flashing finish.
The acting is excellent, the camera work exceedingly atmospheric, and the pacing of the film is brisk - at times so brisk that it is difficult to keep up with the complexities of the plot. But in all the major contribution of TIME OF FAVOR is one of educational value. Finally someone is giving the masses some insight into the myriad problems that conflict Israel. Grady Harp, April 05
Movie Review: As bleak as the landscape around this Israeli settlement
Summary: 4 Stars
This 2000 Israeli film is as fresh as today's headlines. Set in a settlement in Israel it's about a radical rabbi and his ardent followers, two best friends who compete for the rabbi's daughter, and the ongoing conflicts of orthodoxy and secularism in Israel.
The film is as bleak as the landscape around the settlement. And the rabbi's radicalism is the one thing that keeps the young men bound together. One of them is in the army and creates a religious unit much to the concern of his superiors who distrust the radicalism, even though the soldiers perform well. Another young man is the scholar and the rabbi wants him to marry his daughter. Alas, though, she prefers the soldier. Trouble follows. She leaves the settlement and goes to the city where she finds an apartment with some other religious young women.
Her rejection of her religious suitor, however, pushes him to plan to commit a radical act and he involves the soldier as well as another innocent friend in the plan. How this all plays out is scary, as we are all aware of the potential violence of terrorist attacks. This film brings this all out as well as some complex psychological factors.
The problem was that the story moved a little two slowly for my taste. Also, as it was a foreign film, I know that it lost a lot in translation. It seemed as if some parts were missing and the narrative seemed to jump round awkwardly. So, in spite of its message and the tension raised regarding what would happen next, I found myself looking at the clock and feeling bored. However, the film had an interesting theme and the acting was excellent. It also showed me the world through a unique point of view.
Movie Review: Great cinematography and good insights into Israel today
Summary: 4 Stars
The real star of 'Time of Favor' is cinematographer Ofer Inov. About half the movie takes place at night & the actors appear bathed in an almost bluish tint, with glowing eyes. It's a superb effect.I can see why this movie swept the Israeli version of the Oscars for films released in 2000. It's a well-told, gripping saga of a confrontation between the religious and secular forces that push for ascendancy in Israel. Contrary to what we may think back here in the States, there's a healthy skepticism and mistrust in many parts of Israeli society of the ultra-religious, especially when mixed into national institutions like the Army.
Throw in West Bank settlement politics, a messianic rabbi, his flowering daughter, an unbalanced star Torah student, a studly company commander, the Mossad, a star-crossed love triangle...and you've got yourself a very compelling movie.
My only problem: the ending is a little too melodramatic and over the top; but it's still a good ride.
'Time of Favor' is in Hebrew with English subtitles. The subtitles are very legible and well-timed. Certain untranslatable words and concepts are transliterated from Hebrew and presented in quotes. All in all, the subtitled version of the film loses none of the emotion and subtlety of the original.