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We really wanted to get excited, but the book we all read turned out to be another disappointing Netflix movie

Sophia Loren returns to the screen in "All Life Ahead," a new adaptation of the beloved book that surfaced on Netflix - and turns out to be a disgrace.

Also: Seth Rogen's controversial "American Sour" is finally being screened in Israel, and the pair of films that will do you good on the heart

Tags

• All life before him

• Gary novel

• Emil Azar

• Sophia Loren

• Netflix

• Seth Rogen

• Hugh Grant

• Julia Roberts

Avner Shavit

Thursday, 12 November 2020, 00:47

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Trailer for the movie "All Life Ahead" (Netflix)

Roman Gary published the book "All Life Before Him" ​​in 1975, under the pen name Emile Azar.

The novel was a great success and appreciated in France, and thanks to its communicativeness and preoccupation with content related to Jewish history, it has become an integral part of our matriculation curriculum in literature, which never changes - which means that several generations of Israelis have been brought to its knees.

In light of this state class, it is easy to underestimate the canonical novel, but the truth that a re-reading of it reveals that it is an outstanding book, and its statements about the world and humanity are more relevant than ever.

Remember, at the center is a child whose age has already seen it all, and when someone tells him that all life is still ahead of him, he asks him not to scare him.

So strong, so sad.

The first cinematic adaptation of the book came immediately after its release.

It was a French film by an Israeli filmmaker, Moshe Mizrahi, which won an Oscar in the foreign film category, making him the first Israeli director to win the Golden Figurine, and the last to Guy Nativ two years ago.

Now, another adaptation is coming - and this time it speaks Italian, and it goes up directly on Netflix this weekend.

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And this time: in Italian.

From "All Life Before Him" ​​(Photo: PR)

The story of the frame remains similar: the story of a Holocaust survivor who takes refuge under a street boy whose mother was murdered by his father.

But this time, the scene was moved from Paris to Naples, the child is not North African but Senegalese and the period of occurrence is not the seventies, but today.

The film was directed by Eduardo Ponti, who recruited his mother for the project - none other than Sophia Loren, one of the few great divas still alive, and returns here to the screen after a break of more than a decade.

I wish it would turn out to be an exciting comeback, but I'm sorry to report that her acting display looks like a shadow of herself, or of Simone Signora who played the role in the French adaptation.

The truth is, killing movies that go up on Netflix is ​​as tiring as being a broken turntable.

The tune keeps coming back, and even the wit that the writer is upside down in his grave we have already wasted on "Anola Holmes," the fresh and unbearable (but successful, admittedly) adaptation of Conan Doyle's writings.

What to do, this time too it is true: the French writer would certainly not have enjoyed seeing what the Italian director had done to him.

In fact, it is appropriate that the Italian ambassador to France be summoned for a reprimand call.

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A shadow of itself.

Sophia Loren in "All Life Before Him" ​​(Photo: PR)

The original novel explodes with social contexts and historical charges, but in the cinematic adaptation there is nothing.

Gary's writing combines poetry and intensity, and in the film there is neither this nor that.

The book has humor, irony, sarcasm and wit - and guess what, the new adaptation is free of all of these

There are so many flaws that it's hard to know where to start.

To facilitate the process, we will do so by way of comparison.

Well: the original novel explodes with social contexts and historical charges, but in the film adaptation there is nothing.

Gary's writing combines poetry and intensity, and in the film there is neither this nor that.

The book has humor, irony, sarcasm and wit - and guess what, the new adaptation is free of all of that.

The script, the direction, the production, the casting and the acting - everything here is so trivial, shallow and poor, that if it were not for the movie "All Life Before It", we would not have noticed it at all.

Remember, a recurring motif in the book is that the child imagines that at night, a lioness sneaks into his room.

The film chooses to illustrate this through computerized effects, and it is not surprising to find that they are inferior and unsuccessful.

There are things that are better left to the imagination, but in the film there is not a drop of wisdom and restraint.

As it develops, the result becomes more kitschy and sentimental, but not exciting for a moment and boring all the time.

At the end of the viewing, one can only take comfort in the fact that the future will surely bring us better movies.

After all, all life is before us.

Kitsch.

From "All Life Before Him" ​​(Photo: PR)

"American Sour" was chosen to be the opening film of the Jewish Festival in Jerusalem, and you can understand why: together with "Good Jew" by the Cohen brothers, this is probably the most Jewish film made in Hollywood in the last two decades.

Before the Israelis rebuked American Jews for voting for Joe Biden, they rebuked Seth Rogen.

As you may recall, the comedian and filmmaker came to the fore after allowing himself to joke about the existence of the Jewish state.

It ended with a zoom conversation with Jewish Agency Chairman Bozi Herzog and an excited apology, until the next reprimand.

Rogen said this last summer, in an interview on the occasion of the release of his film "American Sour," which went live on U.S. streaming, and has yet to be screened. Now, there will be an opportunity to see it with Hebrew subtitles, as part of the Jerusalem Cinematheque's Jewish Film Festival, which will of course take place this year in a virtual format,

directed by Brandon Trust, who has previously worked as a photographer, including successful comedies starring Rogen, such as "Neighbors." , Produced the project, wrote the screenplay and also stars in a double role: as Herschel, a Jew who slipped from the shtetl to New York at the turn of the last century, falls victim to a bizarre pickle accident and finds himself preserved for a century until he wakes up straight into modern New York; , Who had to take him under his wing and help him adapt to the reality of 2020.

"American Sour" was chosen to serve as the opening film of the Jewish festival, and one can understand why: along with "Good Jew" by the Cohen brothers, this is probably the most Jewish film made in Hollywood in the last two decades. .

Twice Seth Rogen.

From "American Sour" (Photo: PR)

In its review of Jewish history over the past century, the film is careful to omit the fact of the rebirth and existence of the State of Israel.

Maybe it's a coincidence, and maybe it's just indicative of the fact that young Americans like Rogen are not opposed to this country, but it also does not particularly interest them.

Already in its first quarter of an hour, the film compresses all the issues and elements that characterize Jewish (Ashkenazi) culture: anti-Semitism, immigration, a constant sense of persecution, suffering and sacrifice, black humor and self-deprecation, emphasis on family and more and more, including endless references to historical events. Concepts from the Jewish tradition and Yiddish words.

Even when Herschel's great-grandson enters the picture and is initially revealed as a secular Jew who has no connection to tradition, the film continues this line.

We will not go into details so as not to expose the twists and turns of the plot, but it can be said this way: to redeem his depressed soul, the young New Yorker understands that he must reconnect to his identity and culture, and to fulfill himself in the Big Apple, he is required to close the circle.

In short, even the Jewish Agency can be satisfied.

On the other hand, they may not be happy about the following fact: in his review of Jewish history over the past century, the film makes sure to omit the fact of the resurrection and existence of the State of Israel.

Maybe it's coincidental, and maybe it's just indicative of the fact that young Americans like Rogen are not opposed to this country, but it also does not particularly interest them.

And if so far we have only talked about the Israeli-Jewish interest and not about net quality, it is also no coincidence: beyond the context and what it tells us about American Jewry, "American Sour" is nothing more than a likable comedy - a classic "fish out of water" product. , In which the protagonist finds himself in a different time and / or place from what he knew.

There are quite a few good jokes in the film, but they are mostly in the first act, and then the result downshifts.

On the other hand, along the way, the dramatic dimension never manages to develop in a truly exciting way.

In short, those who are not connected to Yiddishkeit will not necessarily find "American Sour" a special interest, but precisely because of this the Jewish Festival is the perfect hostel for them.

To watch the film and other films screened at the Jewish Film Festival, see the official website.

What would Netanyahu say?

From "American Sour" (Photo: PR)

Books are Steimatzky and British romantic comedies are Richard Curtis - the screenwriter who is a genre in his own right, and is responsible for "Four Weddings and One Funeral", "The Diary of Bridget Jones" and other films, led of course "Notting Hill", which returned Recently to the Netflix catalog.

Re-watching the film makes it possible to realize just how much the script is a writing school.

Those who breathe cinematic life into his masterful words are Curtis' regular partner, Hugh Grant, and alongside him Julia Roberts, who illustrates here that she is a one-time actress.

There are scenes in the film for the Pantheon - the competition for the last brownie, for example, or the scene where the canonical quote "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy" comes.

Beyond that, as a whole, although it is slow and unfolds over no less than two hours, "Notting Hill" has only gotten better, and is more pleasant and comforting than ever.

A once-in-a-lifetime actress.

Julia Roberts in "Notting Hill" (Photo: PR)

"Notting Hill" was directed by Roger Mitchell, but then Curtis decided to direct his own screenplays, and after "Love is the Whole Story" and "Radio Rock", came in 2013 the charming and underrated "All the Time in the World", Which deals with a man who discovers that he has the power to go back in time whenever he wants, and tries to use this superpower to improve his romantic situation.

Naturally, this is a much lesser known film than "Notting Hill", but it also has a miraculous effect on the mood, and it is also very worth seeing.

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