Sallah Shabati

In many ways, not only cinematically, Shabati is a master piece. With endless subtlety and style, Kishon (writer and director, one of Israel's all-time best creative artists in his debut film) brings the story of Salleh Shabati, a Yemenite immigrant to Israel in the first years since it's foundation. Shabati and his big family find themselves in a torn and yet un-structured society, trying in all sorts of ways to get the government - representatives of which being ignorant (if not racist), hard-headed, and at times corrupt, to move them from the "Ma'abara" (refugee camp) to a permanent housing. Shabati may appear, at first, to be a simple illiterate immigrant, but his simple and straightforward wisdom reveal the deepest-most hardships the new society of Israel is being challenged to face. Racism, cultural exclusion, poverty. Eventually, though, love triumphs. Fantastic acting by all actors involved, especially Topol with a magnificent once-in-a-life-time performance, plus sharp, accurate writing by Kishon, make this film a joy to watch. The history and sociology lesson are there if you want them, but Shabati is, before anything else, simply a brilliant film.