Jaffa

Leftist Israelis make up this fantasies. They invent a fake reality of Arab - Israeli love and understanding. In this respect this movie is just like the the "Egyptian Band".

In reality in Jaffa nobody calls Israeli Arabs "Palestinians" both Jews and Arabs refer to them as "Arabs".

The marriages between Arabs and Jews are rare, and only extremely rare survive beyond just a few years.

The hope that this movie is trying to instill in the hearts of the naive viewers is false.

In summary: a tragic waste of talent to make such a false movie.

The title, Jaffa, gives us only a location. In the suburbs of Tel-Aviv, Jaffa is a place of biblical mention, there are some saying it is derived from the name Japheth, son of Noah. It currently has a mixed population, more than a third are Israeli Arabs.

Keren Yedaya gifts us again a remarkable experience, presenting a difficult moral story from a neutral point of view, unbiased and yet strongly moving. The script is by Yedaya and Ben Porat, the cast is -as most Israeli movies-impeccable. Dana Ivgy, Ronit Elkabetz (an amazing bandwidth actress, "Late Marriage"2001 "The Band's visit"-2007), Ro'i Asaf, Mahmoud Shalaby give solidly credible performances. Whichever side of the story you may be, either the touching romance against all odds or the practical considerations of secular enmity, at the end you will reflect at length, and be enriched by this film.

With precise timing and increasing emotional leverage, Yedaya mounts a gradual increase in tension, a catastrophe and then gives us more: the wonderful struggle within the future mother. Mali (Dana Ivgy) is caught between her family, her religion and her other family, the one she dreamed of creating... but she must tell her parents about the child's father.

Scenes of great emotional intensity are shot in vignettes brimming with concealed pain... At the end of the film, the debate is far from close, but the hope, the child of both Israeli and Arab is something we have in front of us, unmistakenly. Great music by Shushan runs plangently through the end credits, rightly nominated to a Camera d'Or at Cannes film festival.

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For once let's just separate the politics from the movie reviews for once when reviewing titles from anywhere in the middle east or war zones. This is a typical love story as they are made all over the world and.... boy is it worth watching.

When the spoiled and jealous son of Reuvens body shop/garage provokes one of the mechanics Toufik one time to many all lives involved are forced to change. Toufik and the daughter of the owner Mali have their own secrets and over time things can no longer be hidden.

It's a solid love story, drama. Well acted, well done. No big political issues or statements here. Just a very solid drama, well told, well acted with likable characters. Thats good enough already without political statement.

Imagine a film with an in depth story that will keep you guessing. Imagine a film that has exceptional acting and interesting characters. Imagine a film that is just as gritty as it is beautiful. Imagine Jaffa, one of the greatest films you will ever have the pleasure of seeing.

Jaffa tells a remarkable story about a dysfunctional Israeli family that owns an automotive repair shop. The family's problems drive the story to places that you would never expect it to go. This is not a typical film at all. Just when you think you have it figured out, it throws a curve ball and leaves your jaw wide open. Jaffa is full of secrets, lies and betrayal that will keep you entertained until the credits roll.

Think of all the elements that make a movie great. Jaffa has all of those elements maxed out. It's a must see film for anyone that likes movies. It's a masterpiece.

I was fond of Keren Yedaya's first feature, Or, so I was looking forward to her second. I found it a bit underwhelming. Dana Igvy returns as the lead, but here her performance is less impressive. I think what I missed most was the naturalistic tone, this felt more contrived and artificial. Perhaps this would have been less problematic if the film had some kind of style to it, but it's rather flat. Despite this, it's not a bad movie... the characterizations are reasonably compelling and so forth. It just didn't really grab me, and I don't think it adds all that much to the Israel-Palestine discussion. Still, I'm interested in what else Yedaya has to offer.