Kikar Ha-Halomot

I assume that there's a very slim chance that you saw or even heard of "Sangam". An Indian film about two good friends falling in love with the same girl, and one of them decides to forsake his love for the sake of friendship, an unrewarded act since his friend is not aware that they BOTH love her. the Indian (read: tragic) part of the story is that the girl is in love with the ultra-altruistic friend and know that his feelings to her are mutual.

The reason i gave a summary of a film i'm not even commenting on, is that the plot of the movie has certain similarities to Desperado square.I do not care to detail, or i'll be blacklisted.

What I can tell you about this film is that it tells the tale of a neighborhood outside Tel-Aviv that rises to life when the old theater, closed for three decades by it's now deceased owner, is to be opened by his son after he had an epiphany. The movie chosen for the screening is, well, if you haven't guessed it by now than you're hopeless.

the upcoming screening stirs conflicting emotions, by those who adore the film and by those who feel that the movie touches one nerve too many. Especially the widowed wife of the owner who knows full well, why the theater was closed (hint: not the recession).

this movie (desperado square, enough about Sangam) revolves more around the colorful people than it is on the plot, which makes it slightly slow-paced at times but leaves the audience with a non-violent catharsis or, in layman's terms: a "feel good" movie.

the only reservation I have is the slight over load of ethnic music. the indian movie (like most bollywood features) is filled with singing and dancing segments (it's a long film too, close to 4 hours) but in an Israeli film, these segments (which are not frequent in the film, it's definitely not a musical)are more a liability than an asset.

Other than that, this is a very good feature, and i do recommend it, not only to "film-buffs".

8 out of 10 in my FilmOmeter