The trailer of the movie "Peek of Relationships" ("May/December)/Film Forum
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"American Story" and "A Look at Relationships": two of the most talked about and appreciated films of the year
It was a great year for Hollywood producers of Israeli origin.
Let's start without Baroda, who produced "Relationship Peek" with Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman.
The film was one of the biggest hits of the Cannes Film Festival, caused great resonance in France, and received an Oscar nomination in the original screenplay category.
In the United States, Netflix bought his rights for a high amount and got a return on investment - he climbed to the top of the most watched films chart.
In our country, the film did not appear on Netflix, but received commercial distribution - but the audience did not really run to the theaters.
Now it is uploaded to the VOD of the various platforms - HOT, yes, Partner and Cellcom and there is another opportunity to discover it.
And again we will clarify: with us, it is not (!) available on Netflix.
In English, the film is called "May December", a phrase that refers to a romantic relationship with significant age gaps.
The Israeli distribution completely ignored the specific terminology and chose the generic translation "a peek into the relationship".
Now on a TV screen near you.
From "A Glimpse of Relationships"/Pi Forum
In the case of the film, the dubious affair is between a family woman and a boy in middle school, who became her partner and started a family with her.
Julianne Moore plays the character of this woman, and Natalie Portman plays an actress who is going to play her in a movie about the sensational affair.
The star wants to know more and more, and reveal every possible detail to prepare for the role, so the two spend time together preparing for the shoot.
The film was directed by Julianne Moore's regular partner, Todd Haynes, who, among other things, worked with her on the famous "Far From Heaven".
Thanks to him and thanks to films like "Carol", he has become one of the most respected American filmmakers nowadays, and knows how to gain sympathy at festivals and cinemas but nevertheless correspond with a relatively wide audience.
Even more than Haynes' previous films, "A Peek at Relationships" is communicative, attractive, photogenic and fun.
The script has a lot of drama, twists and turns, which the excellent actresses are happy to sink their teeth into.
It is obvious that they are enjoying every second with Haynes, and he is enjoying himself with them.
The film fails to provide us with a significant point or an exciting emotional reward, but it does move comfortably on the border between high-quality and commercial, and at least in the format of home viewing stands on the standard of a positive experience.
"Staying for the holiday" and the best roles of John Travolta: listen to the podcast of Yishai Kitchels and Avner Shavit
Ram Bergman, for his part, signed three hits.
Two of them swept away the audience mainly on Netflix - "Fair Game" and Well-Written Murder: A Greek Mystery". The third and best of all is "American Story", which became one of the biggest sensations of the year. It is a film with little synopsis and not a lot of stars, which nevertheless scoops awards, and more What awards! It won the Audience Favorite Award at the Toronto Film Festival and the Adapted Screenplay Award at the British Academy Awards, and is expected to win a similar statuette at the Oscars as well. Now, carried on top of the paragon from wall to wall, it is coming to the movie theaters in Israel.
Now in the cinema.
From "American Story"/Lev Cinema
The film was written and directed by the black American filmmaker Cord Jefferson.
Jeffrey Wright, in the role of his life, plays here a failed academic and author, whose desperate attempt to engineer a bestseller exposes the hypocrisy of academia and American culture and their patronizing treatment of minorities.
It is one of the most topical and explosive topics out there, and the film handles it without silk gloves, but rather sharply and venomously.
Perhaps it's no coincidence that Bergman signed on to such a film: it could be that only an Israeli producer would have dared to be so obnoxious.
3. "Land of God": a cinematic film at your home
After an impressive tour of festivals around the world, the highlight of which was the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, and after it was shown here at the Haifa Film Festival but was not released commercially, this Danish film is coming to yes's VOD, that is, at no additional charge.
"God's Land" is about a Danish priest who was sent to Iceland at the end of the 19th century to establish a church.
He is full of good intentions, and we all know where such intentions lead.
Both in terms of cinematic expression and in terms of theological depth, "Land of God" is reminiscent of a Bergman film.
If it had been released in the sixties, it would have been considered a masterpiece and an instant classic.
I wish there is a place for such masterpieces even nowadays.
4. "Staying for the holiday": an instant classic in cinema
Alexander Payne shone as one of the most prominent American filmmakers of his generation with "About Schmidt", "Byways", "The Heirs" and "Nebraska", experienced a decline with "Living Small" and now makes a big comeback with "The Holdovers", which is nominated Oscar in five categories - including best film.
After a successful distribution in the rest of the world, this movie is now also starring in our theaters.
Paul Giamatti, in one of his best roles, plays a professor at a prestigious prep school who is stuck with the student he hates for Christmas break.
"Staying for the Holiday" is a film whose plot takes place in the 1970s and looks as if it was made then, in the golden age of American cinema, when films were films and values were values.
"Staying for the holiday" is a story that enters the heart and stays in it, about two people who, precisely at Christmas, learn what it means to be a manz.
Five Oscar nominations.
From "Remaining for the holiday"/Tulip Media
5. "Letter to a pig": now also in HOT
Two weeks ago it became known that "Letter to Pig", the short and beautiful animated film by Tal Cantor, is nominated for an Oscar.
The immediate reaction of many was the question - and where can you see him?
So now there is an answer - last week it went up on yesVOD and +STING, and now it is also available on HOT.
The film is based on a childhood memory that haunted the director.
Her class met with a Holocaust survivor, who told them that a pig saved his life.
Although the animal is considered impure in Judaism, in his case it turned out to be a guardian angel, and its body separated him from the Nazis who were looking for him.
The Jewish survivor of course did not forget the pig, and years later wrote him a letter of thanks.
More in Walla!
She dreamed of a pig saving a Jew in the Holocaust.
It became a masterpiece and an award-winning film
To the full article
On the way to the Oscars.
From "A Letter to a Pig"/The Hive Studio, Miyu Productions
This unique story intervened in Kantor's dream, and these memories left a strong impression on her.
He didn't let go of her even in her adulthood, until a few years ago she decided to turn them into a cinematic piece that would deal with the meeting of the Holocaust survivor with the pig, and the meeting of the schoolgirl with both.
The result is this animated film, and the rest is history - which now hopefully ends with a statuette.
In the meantime, don't miss the opportunity to watch "Letter to a Pig" - a masterpiece film, which manages to deal with the memory of the Holocaust in a mesmerizing way, from a new angle.
The script is complex and full of layers - and the animation, which the creator worked on for five years, is a work of thought full of details and expression.
More on the same topic:
Ram Bergman
Jeffrey Wright
Natalie Portman
Julianne Moore
Cannes Film Festival