Exuberante Deserto

The cinematography in this film is somewhat fantastic. For this I feel the production team really succeeded and proved that amongst other international contemporary film makers, Israel can too present a film that is aesthetically pleasing.

In the director's cut, Dror Shaul claims that the film is of 'one boys vision' of his own current affairs and that there are no political views that hide behind the surface of the film. I disagree with this statement and although I have never experienced a Kibbutz before I am able to understand that this film takes on a very one-sided stance of the system, propaganda and regime of the kibbutz. Shaul fails to balance out the film and portrays it as an obsolete institute of total corrupt. He paints the opposite of an idealistic vision over it and I feel this might cause a bit of controversy amongst previous or current kibbutz members.

The story line is emotional. It really seems as though the director, team and actors have put a lot of effort and time into producing a story which is captivating yet subjective, submitting a senseful and sensitive drama which encourages the viewer to follow and react in accordance to the actors emotions.

It is a film to watch and certainly one of the greats of upcoming contemporary Israeli cinema.

I saw this film in an audience of about 80 American Jews passionately devoted to Israel. Most had visited Kibbutzim, a number had lived on one or more. Some thought Dror Shaul's theme -- the claustrophobic atmosphere and pressure inflicted on a mentally unstable Kibbutz member -- reflected aspects of kibbutz life they had witnessed. Others saw it as a complete distortion of an Edenic, well-intentioned if ultimately unsuccessful, experiment. One thought it should not be shown to American audiences because it reflected badly on Israel. It is, frankly, an emotionally draining and heart-wrenching story about a youngster (Tomer Steinhof) and his unstable mother (Ronit Yudkevitz), whose instability is seriously aggravated if not caused by the unforgiving atmosphere on the kibbutz. Depending on your perspective, you might hate this film because it doesn't conform to your vision of kibbutz life. You may find it excessively unpleasant and dislike it for that reason. However, though it is undeniably dark, the movie is powerful, well-acted and beautifully directed. It provoked a long discussion among members of the audience whom I saw it with. Many were moved, some were angry. Most thought it was well worth seeing, as do I.

I saw Sweet Mud at the Philadelphia Film Festival last night. My friend and I were expecting something slow-moving and maybe boring at times, but we were pleasantly surprised. The movie sold out (word must have gotten around) and you could tell by the audience's reactions that everyone loved it. This film gives such a detailed view of life on a commune, and at the same time it showed a young boy's struggle with his depressed single mother with plenty of comedic moments. I'm not much of a reviewer but I highly recommend seeing this film... it's playing again in Philadelphia this Tuesday at the Ritz Five, for those of you who live in the area!

In the center of "Sweet Mud" ("Adama Meshuga'at" in Hebrew) we find the story of Miri Avni (Ronit Yudkevitz) and her growing up son, Dvir (Tomer Steinhof, with a stunning debut), in a southern Kibbutz during the 1970's.

Where people have to struggle to give from themselves for each other, Miri is constantly trying to recover from the mysterious death of her husband. Under these circumstances, Miri's sensitive situation is worsened and stands contrary to the values of equality that rule the Kibbutz, through the eyes of its members.

Dvir, who's at his Bar-Mitzva's year, is familiar with his mom's condition and tries to prevent her from losing her mind and kick her back to float with the stream. This purpose becomes even more complicated when Dvir has to deal the contrast between the Kibbutz's equality values and his mother's liberty and freedom to live as mentally-ill person at the normative society, and is about to change his adolescence and life.

This flick was mastered and crafted by an accurate and sensitive direction, powerful performances, trembling soundtrack and phenomenal cinematography, and it's well driven by its refined storyline.

Dror Shaul portrayed a personal, yet very resolute story of life in the Kibbutz before privatization, alongside a strict, emotionally-precise coming-of-age tale for independence and dignity.

Young actor Tomer Steinhof is the basis of this film. His performance is so minimalistic, so moving and so convincing that he just tears apart the viewers hearts. This kid HAS to win world-wide recognition and must appear on as many films as possible. Beautiful Ronit Yudkevitz is another supporting-pillar of the film, with a wretched, merciless portrait of a lapsed and helpless woman. Her physical and mental deterioration is absolutely heart-rending. The chemistry between these two marvelous actors and the characters they hand over to the screen is very convincing and leads to many emotional refractions.

The supporting actors do wonderful job as well; Senior Belgique actor Henri Garcin shines on a 5-minutes, yet very important role, as the foreign aging lover of Miri; Shai Avivi with a role of the "comic-moderator" though a very malice person; Gal Zaid as the controversial secretary of the Kibbutz; And many more.

Mixed with mesmerizing music and amazing cinematography, this movie turns to be one of the best Israeli films of all times, if not the best of them.

I was truly affected by this piece of culture.

I think that it is unfair to say that this film is a vehicle to question the justification for a Jewish state, as the reviewer above notes. The film is a stark examination of the social and cultural pressures operating within the closed community of the kibbutz collective. No doubt, the response to the main character's illness both from the collective and from the individuals of the community receives harsh treatment here, but I fail to see this as a global condemnation of Israeli society. The main characters unraveling and her family's attempts to deal with this are very well done and the treatment is sincere and thoughtful. It's hard to believe that the story takes place as recently as 1974.Hadn't we come farther than that by then?