Eretz HaSheleg

When a lead character is named after the writer/director, you've got to suspect there will be self-indulgence. Is this movie just an ego trip? An attempt to re-invent the man in a way that puts him in a good light? The answer is "somewhat," and there are scenes that seem to be included more because they're something the writer/director wanted to portray than because they advance an aesthetically rewarding arc.

The movie is driven partly by constant tension between the characters. The background to the tension is rather sketchy, when not missing entirely, but Israeli audiences may nonetheless enjoy watching the male leads, who are a couple of the country's most accomplished and best liked actors. And there is also a subplot about a cute little girl with possibly terminal cancer, so we naturally want to keep watching in order to see how that turns out. Overseas, the film was well enough received to nab a "Best" award at a couple of festivals.