A winner of six Israeli Academy Awards -- including best picture, actress and supporting actor and actress -- entertaining 1997 romantic comedy "Afula Express" (a k a "Pick a Card") continues to make the festival rounds with the not-unreasonable hope of garnering a domestic distribution deal.
Documentarian Julie Shles has a dream cast to work with in her feature debut, but one of the more pleasant surprises of "Afula" is how well made it is, from script to camera work to editing. Alas, the film is more interesting during its first half, while the final section drastically overuses a storytelling device -- raw, documentarylike footage of interviews with people acquainted with the celebritylike lead character.
Reminiscent of a Billy Wilder or Paddy Chayevsky tale, "Afula" unfolds leisurely, with a unique atmosphere arising from the likable but hard-pressed, three-dimensional characters. In most important aspects of life, David (Zvika Hadar) is an irresponsible jerk or comes off as one. A transplant from Afula in northern Israel, he lives with overweight but otherwise angelic Batya (Esti Zackheim), and their relationship is not idyllic.
She works at a supermarket and flirts with a shy, handsome loner. An out-of-work electrician, David dreams of becoming a professional magician, but he's an ugly mixture of arrogance, compulsiveness and childishness. He tries to learn a card trick or two and gets involved with some intimidating illusionists, while she gets to know their new neighbor -- lively, young Vicki (Orly Perl).
David talks Batya one last time into being his assistant at a bar mitzvah gig. It goes badly, and she implores him to look for regular work. A laughingstock but not easily discouraged, David Hooks up with Romanian immigrant Shimon (Aryeh Moskuna), a veteran magician. The duo amazingly achieve success right after Batya leaves David.
Batya moves in with Vicki and enjoys the freedoms of being single, along with the expected makeover, but she decides to move back to Afula and break up permanently with David. The film then becomes preoccupied with chronicling David Rise's to fame, including the distracting documentarylike inserts of friends and neighbors before his appearance with Shimon in Afula.
Unfortunately, the story works in vengeful competitors that strike back at Shimon and David during the muddled finale, which also sees an unconvincing reconciliation between the separated lovers. Indeed, Batya reappears to help redeem David when the battle appears unwinnable.
AFULA EXPRESS
Norma Prods.
Credits: Director: Julie Shles; Producer: Assaf Amir; Screenwriter: Amit Leor; Director of photography: Itzik Portal; Production designer: Eva Gronowitz; Editor: Maor Keshet; Music: Yuval Shafrir. Cast: David: Zvika Hadar; Batya: Esti Zackheim; Shimon: Aryeh Moskuna; Vicki: Orly Perl. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo.
Running time -- 96 minutes.
Documentarian Julie Shles has a dream cast to work with in her feature debut, but one of the more pleasant surprises of "Afula" is how well made it is, from script to camera work to editing. Alas, the film is more interesting during its first half, while the final section drastically overuses a storytelling device -- raw, documentarylike footage of interviews with people acquainted with the celebritylike lead character.
Reminiscent of a Billy Wilder or Paddy Chayevsky tale, "Afula" unfolds leisurely, with a unique atmosphere arising from the likable but hard-pressed, three-dimensional characters. In most important aspects of life, David (Zvika Hadar) is an irresponsible jerk or comes off as one. A transplant from Afula in northern Israel, he lives with overweight but otherwise angelic Batya (Esti Zackheim), and their relationship is not idyllic.
She works at a supermarket and flirts with a shy, handsome loner. An out-of-work electrician, David dreams of becoming a professional magician, but he's an ugly mixture of arrogance, compulsiveness and childishness. He tries to learn a card trick or two and gets involved with some intimidating illusionists, while she gets to know their new neighbor -- lively, young Vicki (Orly Perl).
David talks Batya one last time into being his assistant at a bar mitzvah gig. It goes badly, and she implores him to look for regular work. A laughingstock but not easily discouraged, David Hooks up with Romanian immigrant Shimon (Aryeh Moskuna), a veteran magician. The duo amazingly achieve success right after Batya leaves David.
Batya moves in with Vicki and enjoys the freedoms of being single, along with the expected makeover, but she decides to move back to Afula and break up permanently with David. The film then becomes preoccupied with chronicling David Rise's to fame, including the distracting documentarylike inserts of friends and neighbors before his appearance with Shimon in Afula.
Unfortunately, the story works in vengeful competitors that strike back at Shimon and David during the muddled finale, which also sees an unconvincing reconciliation between the separated lovers. Indeed, Batya reappears to help redeem David when the battle appears unwinnable.
AFULA EXPRESS
Norma Prods.
Credits: Director: Julie Shles; Producer: Assaf Amir; Screenwriter: Amit Leor; Director of photography: Itzik Portal; Production designer: Eva Gronowitz; Editor: Maor Keshet; Music: Yuval Shafrir. Cast: David: Zvika Hadar; Batya: Esti Zackheim; Shimon: Aryeh Moskuna; Vicki: Orly Perl. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo.
Running time -- 96 minutes.
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