Another View 2016 / Shavua Ve Yom / Israel 2016
In contrast to dramas focusing on protagonists who succumb to an illness, here the main characters are people who must come to terms with such a tragedy – an aging couple who have lost their only son. Initially, carrying on seems impossible but humorous moments crop up at even the toughest of times, making it thinkable to take the first step toward regaining their equilibrium.
In Judaism, shiva is the week after the funeral of a family member during which the closest survivors mourn and come to terms with the departure of a loved one. But how are aging parents to accept the death of their only son? The mother just about manages to handle it; she’s a teacher used to organizing the running of the school while maintaining distance and perspective – quite helpful in the current situation. Meanwhile, her husband is going through what looks like a nervous breakdown. He behaves confrontationally or unpredictably at every turn, and no one is able to communicate with him, his wife included. But then the wacky and empathetic son of a neighbor seems to inadvertently hit upon the right therapy, bringing the man back to a life that has to go on in order to deal with myriad details. The narrative comprises minor plot moments that lack a point and work by suggestion. Soberly, with no appeal to the emotions but with a sense of humor – these are the ways to mediate the complex and painful feelings of those who must overcome one of fate’s most tragic blows.
Zdena Škapová
98 min / Color, DCP
Director Asaph Polonsky
/ Screenplay Asaph Polonsky
/ Dir. of Photography Moshe Mishali
/ Music Tamar Aphek, Ran Bagno
/ Editor Tali Halter Shenkar
/ Art Director Yoav Sinai
/ Producer Saar Yogev, Naomi Levari
/ Production Black Sheep Film Productions Ltd.
/ Cast Evgenia Dodina, Shai Avivi, Tomer Kapon
/ Sales New Europe Film Sales
Asaph Polonsky (b. 1983, Washington DC) is a debuting director and screenwriter who grew up in Israel from the age of eight. He returned to the United States to study: In 2013 he graduated from the director’s program of the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles. In Israel he directed, wrote, and produced his first two shorts, Zipper (2009) and In Bed at 10 PM (2010), which were screened at domestic and foreign festivals alike (Jerusalem, Toronto, Milano), as was his graduation film Samnang (2013). He has also made music videos and cooperated on TV projects. In 2012 he developed the script for his feature debut One Week and a Day at the renowned Sam Spiegel International Film Lab in Jerusalem. The movie premiered this year at Cannes where it competed in Cannes’ Critics’ Week.
New Europe Film Sales
Puławska 152/5, 02-670, Warsaw
Poland
Phone: +48 609 804 296, +48 600 173 205
E-mail: [email protected]
Jan Naszewski
Sales Agent
Asaph Polonsky
Film Director
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