Everything Is Broken Up and Dances

Nony has cracked under the pressure of war trauma, and no one knows how to bring him back to himself, so the idea is to bring him halfway back to himself to begin with-- by letting him assume the identity of the uncle he was named after. From there on, as the comedians say, "If you buy the premise, you buy the bit." Not a lot happens, but the movie holds attention by virtue of the tension inherent in the situation. It doesn't hurt that a half dozen of Israel's best actors are on board. Their own characters don't always behave completely reasonably either, but the whole movie is more an exercise than a well-reasoned story. The writer/director/star was a beginner out to prove himself, and he comes through with a passing grade.

The one movie cliché that particularly irritated me is the ease with which somebody becomes a music star. Here there's an attempt to convince the audience that satire is being attempted (the fellow isn't really talented) but it can't cover up the tired artificiality of the plot device.