Retratos de Nitzanim

This remarkable film from Israel is not only a memorial to the Berlin Jew Mira Ben-Ari (1926-1948), but also to Kibbutz Nitzamin. Director Avi Nesher not only tells a story from the Israeli War of Independence from 1947 to 1949, but also creates a treatise on the "image of victory" we create and the reasons for this.

It tells the story of life in Kibbutz Nitzamin, where Jews from all over the world live, work, and even fight to defend themselves against their hostile neighbors. The film focuses on the young Mira (fabulous: Joy Rieger), a Berlin Jew who came to Palestine at the age of seven. Married to Elyakim (Elisha Banai), she has a young son named Dani, but as a radio operator, she is very keen on her independence. The small community is constantly in danger, surrounded by hostile neighbors who, under the leadership of Commander Khalif (Ala DAKKA), constantly fire shots at Nitzamin. After Israel's declaration of independence in May 1948, the hostilities escalate. Cairo film critic Hassanin (Amir Khoury) is tasked with documenting this situation. Through propaganda footage for the Egyptian army, he is given the opportunity to capture the events of the war on film, like his great role model Frank Capra. But when the Egyptian army is forced to make its embarrassing retreat, at least Kibbutz Nitzamin is to be wiped out in order to present an "image of victory" to the newsreel audience in Cairo.

In addition to Mira and her family, this film focuses on other kibbutz residents who come from different corners of the world and must find common ground, especially linguistically. As a Berliner, Mira still has the latest Marlene Dietrich record brought to her and enjoys speaking German with other kibbutz residents who have escaped from Berlin. Hadassa (Meshi KLEINSTEIN), for example, comes from Argentina and has to struggle to adjust to the harsh and, above all, tango-abstinent life in the desert. The dashing Avraham Schwartzstein (Yadin GELLMAN), as the kibbutz commander, is a typical representative of Ashkenazi Jews from Europe.

A truly remarkable film, which is also artistically convincing! The fight scenes aren't always successful, but this is also due to the low budget that films from a "small" country like Israel can have. The Israeli Film Academy's film award is called OPHIR and has been awarded since the 1990s. In addition to director Avi NESHER, four actors also received an OPHIR nomination in 2021: Joy RIEGER, Amir KHOURY (known from the second season of the top Israeli series FAUDA), Meshi KLEINSTEIN, and Ala DAKKA (known from the third season of FAUDA). For the brilliant Ala DAKKA, this was already his second OPHIR nomination after THE COUSIN (2017). A third should follow in 2023 for THE MONKEY HOUSE.

Since I know the area and some of the stories from Israel's independence war, it was interesting to see our history come to life. The storyline is good and so are the actors but some of the scenes, specifically some of the battle scenes, seem amateurish, but maybe it's because that's how untrained soldiers and new immigrants fought at the time. Trying to bring the story from both sides of the conflict is interesting, humanizing the other side. Worth watching!

So first in general I love Avi neshers works . He has some gems . This is one of them. It's a great film. There's one major issue . Gratuitous nudity . To which there's no need ..... I don't understand why this was added to film. It adds nothing and makes it unable to be watched by kids and religus . This could be shown in school if not for that or to children . Due to that wouldnt.... It's a powerful movie . I don't agree with all the points made but I think Avi is fair and trust to be neutral. Hes done this in the past . Which is rare as most Israeli media is super left wing . He shows the good , bad and ugly . Would give 10/10 if not for unnecessary nudity ....

War always attracts me and the post ww2 middle east is like putting a hand inside a nest of yellow jackets, also when reviewing.....

its 1947-48, a kibbutz that has been established around gaza-strip, maybe further north, is repeatedly under attack from arab neighbours. The kibbutz becomes heavily fortified by military involvement, and its a rag and tag highly sophisticated drama in arabic and jiddisch evolves. At the day that mr ben-gurion declares the israeli state a war breaks out, and its the fatality of that escalation that you will meet when watching ''image of victory''.

Its not a supertechnical production, there are plotholes and minor flaws here and there, some low tech special effects, but there is an eerie athmosphere lingering there , its like the song ''ship to shore'', a bad communication ephistel, a flick inspired by actual events.

The acting is fun, consistent and good, and good comedy twined into the grave serious issues taking place is relieving and precious. But most of all its a drama about love trust and sacrifice. A recmmend from the grumpy old man.

I almost never watch foreign language films but was enticed by the appeal to actual events, and I actually enjoyed those aspects of the film. The acting was fairly good and the humorous parts were plausible. What I disliked was the portrayal of the Egyptian film Director. It's hard for me to digest a dyed-in-the-wool antagonist being 'haunted' by the woman's smile. The film reminded me of the pro-war films during the post-WW2 and Vietnam eras: "We" are good and 'the Other' is evil/incompetent'.

This film happened to be well done, with some human interest threads.