When we left the theater after this movie, my wife took the opportunity to urge strangers to see it. It's that impressive.
Childhood in an Israeli town of 1980 looks idyllic, and Erez, his twin brother Ofer, and their family all make the most of it, full of love, humor, and optimism; but it seems that the force that turns the generational wheels-- the magnetism of the opposite sex-- is a weakness that threatens the smooth course of life for them all both as individuals and as a family.
Michael Moshonov and Oshri Cohen are perhaps the most unlikely-looking set of twins since Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwartzenegger, and Cohen doesn't have the face of the glib joke-cracker he portrays, but their acting sells their relationship and the acting of the older performers is even better. A continuity glitch or two is forgiven as the movie packs in enough wit, twists of fate, and characterization for three times its length.
AN AFTERTHOUGHT - I entirely agree with Ada about the extraneous episode with the soldiers. It looks as if it's there merely to provide the movie with woke bona fides. But the writer/director said in an interview that the movie is basically autobiographical and he was really involved in a similar episode. That's no excuse, but it's something of an explanation. There's a tendency among artists to think that anything is an asset if it figures in their memory.
