Ahava Colombianit

I believe that for the foreign viewer the new and refreshing thing about this Israeli movie is how non-serious it is. There are no war-and-peace dramas, and no religious or spiritual pretensions in this movie. Yet, the Israeli viewer should not be surprised at all. There is life on-going in Israel despite the permanent state of tension, people love, quarrel and laugh, as in most places in the world. Moreover, the film claims descending from a least two genres quite popular in the Israeli cinema - the traditional 'burekas' character-oriented comedies in the 70s and 80s and the more recent yuppie-inspired films and TV series. Yet, 'Columbian Love' (translation of the title) tries and to a certain extent succeeds to overcome the limits and clichés of the Israeli models.

It does so however, without being too original, but borrowing from another genre popular oversees, the romantic comedy like 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. The tone of the story telling, the light comic and especially romantic approach remind the feel-good UK and US films and succeed in many occasions to bring smiles and ... make us feel good. Yet,the stereotype character building is not completed avoided, especially in the role played by Shmil Ben Ari. The rest of the team does quite a good job. The only other actor that looks different is Miri Avital, it's not that she acts bad or lacks sex-appeal, but she behaves differently on the screen. Miri spent too many years in the US, and as a result her acting looks ... non-Israeli.

'Columbian Love' does not break any records of excellency but is still a pleasant production, no need to avoid it.