The Beetle

This first-person documentary begins on the eve of Jerusalem filmmaker Yishai Orian's wedding to Eliraz—the same week during which he buys a used yellow Volkswagen with a red hood. The Beetle picks up the story six years later with a pregnant wife and a worn-out car. While Yishai is a likable slob, Eliraz is a somewhat unsympathetic scold, who's tired of the 40-year-old Beetle. “This car,” she complains, “is a piece of junk.” But to Yishai the car is more than just a broken-down hunk of metal, and he tracks down the vehicle's original owners, along the way tracing the history of the “bug” back to Nazi Germany, where it gained popularity as “the people's car” (eventually the model found its way around the world, including Israel, where prime minister Menachem Begin protested its arrival before relenting). Yishai's quest to learn his own Beetle's story leads him to Lionel, whose father had a love/hate relationship with the car; Yoram, who remembers it fondly; Eva, who gave birth in it; and Mara and Karol, who held on to it for the sake of a sick child. Yishai enjoys their stories but worries about safety, the price of baby supplies, and mounting repair costs, wondering whether to sell it or have it overhauled before ultimately making a decision that feels right. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)