Film review: 'Vulcan Junction'
In the week or so before the Yom Kippur War that started Oct. 6, 1973, when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on the Jewish holy day of atonement, the fate of a promising rock band and a close group of friends becomes a nostalgic snapshot of the times in Eran Riklis' slight but engaging "Vulcan Junction".
Set in an industrial area close to the city of Haifa in the north of Israel west of the Golan Heights, "Vulcan Junction" screens tonight at Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex as the closing-night event of the 16th Israel Film Festival. Mixing fun and serious matters, with the Westernized characters inspired by American and English rock music, the movie's modest charms are not enough to break out of the fest and select-site circuit domestically.
Shelly (Oren Shabo), the lead singer and guitarist of Genetic Code, is being courted by out-of-towners for a big career boost, but if he makes the move, it is doubtful his bandmates will come along. Raphaeli (Tomer Sharon) is the serious keyboardist who has applied to a music academy but really lusts for a new synthesizer.
Bass player/fireman Yidgar (Danny Shteg) and drummer/fool-for-love Cahana (Gili Shushan) complete the Code, while the group's biggest fans are couple Avi (Sam Huri) and Dalia (Yael Hadar). He is a hotshot soccer player with a mean streak, and she's a journalist watching the tensions mount who starts writing her way into a dream job for a left-wing political magazine.
When Avi risks his career in a thoughtless act of violence, beating up a Druz guarding a shipment of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album but seeming to get away with it, Dali and he have a falling out. She turns to Shelly, and they soon are having a satisfying fling, if not the start of something more.
There are sundry subplots, including Cahana's ongoing wooing of an aloof lass he repeatedly sees waiting for the bus and the funny/sad saga of Dalia's mother, who competes in a high-pressure speed-ironing contest.
The band frequents a pub owned by Jimmy Smith (Jack Adelist), an American who inspires them by telling tales of rock concerts and hanging with famous musicians. Overall tensions mount. Feeling betrayed by Shelly, Raphaeli leads a Yom Kippur dinner confession game that gets ugly. Then the war starts and the movie comes to a screeching halt, leaving one impressed with the performances and Riklis' crisp direction but unsatisfied with the hasty conclusion.
VULCAN JUNCTION
Eran Riklis Prods.
Director: Eran Riklis
Screenwriters: Moshe Zonder, Amir Ben-David
Producers: Eran Riklis, Mosh Danon
Director of photography: Amnon Zalait
Production designer: Yoel Herzberg
Editor: Naomi Press-Aviram
Color/stereo
Cast:
Shelly: Oren Shabo
Dalia: Yael Hadar
Avi Elbaz: Sam Huri
Yidgar: Danny Shteg
Raphaeli: Tomer Sharon
Cahana: Gili Shushan
Jimmy Smith: Jack Adelist
Running time -- 99 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Set in an industrial area close to the city of Haifa in the north of Israel west of the Golan Heights, "Vulcan Junction" screens tonight at Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex as the closing-night event of the 16th Israel Film Festival. Mixing fun and serious matters, with the Westernized characters inspired by American and English rock music, the movie's modest charms are not enough to break out of the fest and select-site circuit domestically.
Shelly (Oren Shabo), the lead singer and guitarist of Genetic Code, is being courted by out-of-towners for a big career boost, but if he makes the move, it is doubtful his bandmates will come along. Raphaeli (Tomer Sharon) is the serious keyboardist who has applied to a music academy but really lusts for a new synthesizer.
Bass player/fireman Yidgar (Danny Shteg) and drummer/fool-for-love Cahana (Gili Shushan) complete the Code, while the group's biggest fans are couple Avi (Sam Huri) and Dalia (Yael Hadar). He is a hotshot soccer player with a mean streak, and she's a journalist watching the tensions mount who starts writing her way into a dream job for a left-wing political magazine.
When Avi risks his career in a thoughtless act of violence, beating up a Druz guarding a shipment of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album but seeming to get away with it, Dali and he have a falling out. She turns to Shelly, and they soon are having a satisfying fling, if not the start of something more.
There are sundry subplots, including Cahana's ongoing wooing of an aloof lass he repeatedly sees waiting for the bus and the funny/sad saga of Dalia's mother, who competes in a high-pressure speed-ironing contest.
The band frequents a pub owned by Jimmy Smith (Jack Adelist), an American who inspires them by telling tales of rock concerts and hanging with famous musicians. Overall tensions mount. Feeling betrayed by Shelly, Raphaeli leads a Yom Kippur dinner confession game that gets ugly. Then the war starts and the movie comes to a screeching halt, leaving one impressed with the performances and Riklis' crisp direction but unsatisfied with the hasty conclusion.
VULCAN JUNCTION
Eran Riklis Prods.
Director: Eran Riklis
Screenwriters: Moshe Zonder, Amir Ben-David
Producers: Eran Riklis, Mosh Danon
Director of photography: Amnon Zalait
Production designer: Yoel Herzberg
Editor: Naomi Press-Aviram
Color/stereo
Cast:
Shelly: Oren Shabo
Dalia: Yael Hadar
Avi Elbaz: Sam Huri
Yidgar: Danny Shteg
Raphaeli: Tomer Sharon
Cahana: Gili Shushan
Jimmy Smith: Jack Adelist
Running time -- 99 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 4/13/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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