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Guri Alfi's film is viewable, and that's something too

In his first film as a director, Guri Alfi tries to prove that it is still possible to create romantic comedies, both today and in Hebrew.

The result, "One More Story," suffers from countless failures, but is neither offensive nor embarrassing, and thanks to Alfie himself and Dina Sanderson, sometimes even kind

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• Guri Alfi

• Dina Sanderson

• Daniel Gal

• Spring Bloom

Avner Shavit

Monday, 27 September 2021, 00:00

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Trailer for "One More Story" (United King)

(Photo: Shai Librovsky)

Romantic comedy was once one of the most popular genres in Hollywood, but in recent decades it has been dying. In Israeli cinema, her life was not easy in the first place. Between dramas about families and the military and ethnic dependence, this genre has not really found its place.

Even in the current era, even as the industry has moved towards a more genre and Hollywood genre, this has not happened. "Ricky Ricky," "Then She Came," "Good Boy Jerusalem" and others tried to pick up the local answers to "When Harry Met Sally" and "My Boyfriend's Wedding," but found it difficult to leave a mark.

In his first film as a director, Guri Alfi also tries to prove that it is possible to make a romantic comedy today, and more in Hebrew. The result, "One Story and Enough," was released over the weekend, and it is not surprising to find that she experienced labor pains on her way to the screens.

Unusually for Israeli industry, five names are signed for the script of "One Story and Enough": the director himself;

Omar Barak, on whose film "Pressed Marriage" is based;

Dror Weidman;

And also Galit Hugi and Noa Ehrenberg, who are best remembered from "My Successful Sisters."

If that's not enough, Avi Nesher stars at the front of the credits as a "man for special missions," and it remains only to imagine what the mission is.

Presumably she included quite a bit of editing: Tiki Dayan, one of the greatest actresses in Israel, also appears in the credits, but does not appear in the film, and even in this case it remains only to imagine what her role was and why it was cut.

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To the full article

Where did Tiki Dayan go?

From "One More Story" (Photo: Ohad Romano)

The plot structure of the film is also not common in our plays. It is built as a story within a story, and in fact about three different stories that hide in each other like in Matryoshka.

It starts like this: A journalist played by Dina Sanderson is sitting on a first date with a guy, played by Alfi. She tells him another story - it turns out that she and her editor, Lior Ashkenazi, had an affair despite the age gap and conversion relationships, and out of this toxic relationship a toxic plan was born, here is the third story.

Well, it turns out that the ambitious journalist has domesticated her acquaintance, a chubby nerd played by Maayan Blum who can't find a bride, and ended up saying in her heart to match him to someone. She does not do so out of kindness, but to turn the matchmaking story into a cover story. In reality, such an article would have found its place in the back pages of the last holiday supplement and not become a journalistic achievement that holds the plot of a film on its back, but it's just one of the many holes in the script.

Either way, the journalist is aided by computer software, which fails: every potential date of the intended groom fails, until the hand of fate intervenes.

A scientist, who is both handsome and a little sleazy, like the scientists in movies, crushes him on her electric bike.

She is played by Daniel Gal, so the sloppy slumber assumes that he is not in her league, but between the two, a blooming affair surprisingly flourishes, which does not fit in with the plans and the schedule of the media.

Will the love between the two succeed in overcoming all these obstacles?

Hidden and wonderful are the ways of love, but it is difficult to accept the fact that a character played by Daniel Gal will choose a character played by Maayan Blum as the choice of her heart.

With all due respect, this is not the case with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.

If there's a reason they'm falling in love, the script fails to satisfy her, and trust that we'll just accept it as a fact.

More on Walla!

"Prefers bald men with bellies": Our interview with Daniel Gal on the film

To the full article

test case. From "One more story" (Photo: Nati Levy)

Gal is a great actress and so is Bloom. But together, they have no chemistry, and their erroneous team here can be taught as a test case in casting classes.

The film, too, seems to understand this, and he prefers to focus on the story of Guri Alfi and Dina Sanderson, who actually have graceful chemistry. The trouble is that it is supposed to serve as a frame story, not the core, so even the script of “one more story” can be taught in class as a negative lesson.

One more problem? there are a few. As is customary in cinema, Israeli and in general, here too the description of the world of media is ridiculously absurd. The newspaper system looks like Google's offices, and the script includes scenes in which the editor invites a reporter to his room to scold him while reading aloud his bad articles, something that only happens in movies.

The script is largely devoid of the sexism that usually characterizes Israeli cinema, but is not without its problems. In one of the highlights, for example, one of the men destroys for one of the women an important professional status in her life, but accepts it here with understanding and even affection.

Story within story within story. From "One more story" (Photo: Nati Levy)

In addition to the impressive cast in the lead roles, the film also features short guest appearances by the best comedians and comedians available - Mia Landsman, Gaia Beer Gurevitch, Adi Habashush and many others. Even so, two weeks after watching it, it's hard for me to remember even one joke from him.

The film fails to be funny, but to its credit it does not try hard. It has no sewer humor, old-fashioned ethnic humor or any attempt to get down to the lowest common denominator.

Another thing: "One More Story" claims to be a romantic comedy. So comedy is not really in it, but romance still has a bit. Even when apart, Sanderson and Alfie have a captivating cinematic charisma, and together the synergy between them is as vibrant as popcorn kernels. It was not meant to be their movie, but they take it over and make it edible in certain parts of it. It's just a pity it comes at the expense of the structure and plot logic of the whole script.

Orson Welles once said that making a movie is a miracle, and making a good movie is impossible.

This equation is especially true in Israeli cinema, and certainly in a genre as foreign to us as the romantic comedy.

"One More Story" is not a good movie, but it is neither offensive nor embarrassing, its heart is in the right place and its intentions are good.

It is viewable, harmless and for short periods even nice.

Given the legacy behind it and the intricacies that were apparently behind the completion of its production, that too is something.

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