Winner of six Israeli Academy Awards, 1992's Life According to Agfa—directed by Assi Dayan, son of former Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan—unfolds largely in a Tel Aviv nightspot owned by two women with tangled personal lives. Dalia (Gila Almagor) is the mistress of an ailing film producer and fears losing him. Leora (Irit Frank) is devoted to her policeman boyfriend Benny (Shuli Rand), but he's an incorrigible womanizer. When Benny rescues a mentally fragile young woman named Riki (Avital Dicker) from hard-partying soldiers in the bar, but then seduces her himself, the act leads to tragic consequences. Shooting in black-and-white, Dayan turns the combination saloon/coffee bar into a microcosm of society, capturing human behavior in all its variety, including lust, anger, tension, romance, betrayal, and even madness. A sober drama with plenty of fights, drug abuse, and police torture during an interrogation, Life According to Agfa features a truly shattering finale that will leave a lasting impression on viewers long after the end credits roll. [Note: Dayan's Electric Blanket—a sequel to Life According to Afga—is also newly available.] Recommended. (E. Hulse)
Life According to Agfa
SISU, 99 min., in Hebrew w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 24, Issue 5
Life According to Agfa
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