Based on Yehoshua Kenaz's novel Returning Lost Loves, Amos Gitai's episodic drama follows the residents of an apartment building in a downscale section of Tel Aviv, including an army deserter who abhors Israeli military policies, the deserter's frustrated mother, a retired army officer who is too stern for his own good, a shady builder who employs a small army of illegal immigrants, a Holocaust survivor with a fraying grasp on reality and his exasperated Filipino nurse/maid, and a pair of mismatched lovers who engage in a violent yet emotionally pointless affair. It is obvious what Gitai is up to: the rundown building is a stand-in for the state of Israel itself and the film is meant to offer tart commentary on the nation's military culture, its excessive reliance on illegal immigrant labor, and the never-ending jitters of living on the edge of a war zone. All of this will be familiar to anyone who is even vaguely aware of the sociopolitical machinations in today's Israel, but even for the unaware Alila has little to recommend it. The monotony of the production's visual style (consisting of 40 individual single-shot scenes) is matched by the shrillness of a screenplay that serves up caricatures rather than characters. Not recommended. (P. Hall)
Alila
Kino, 122 min., in Hebrew w/English subtitles, not rated, VHS: $24.95, DVD: $29.95 Volume 20, Issue 1
Alila
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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