Two new films on the problems of Israel

Policeman
Directed by Nadav Lapid

The Other Son
Directed by Lorraine Levy

Coming up next month are two films which deal with social, political and personal issues of living in Israel.

Nadav Lapid’s film Policeman has two story threads. One centres around Yalon (Yiftach Klein), a macho member of a tight-knit group of policemen dedicated to saving Israel from terrorist threat.

The other concerns a group of Israelis opposed to the capitalist society aspects of Israel with a mantra “Time for the poor to get rich and the rich to start dying”. They intend performing some radical acts to draw attention to their concerns.

After a fairly leisurely development of each of the group's personal issues and relationships, ultimately the two groups clash, with a dramatic finale.

The film highlights the divisions within Israel where it is the internal social changes which are affecting its future rather than the external threats of Arab terrorism.

Klein’s performance as the image of the self-centred, macho man committed to the idea and ideals of Israel has a scary intensity. As a metaphor for the state itself he embodies both the strengths and weaknesses of the country.

Lorraine Levy’s film The Other Son follows the disruptions which occur in the lives of two families and, more particularly two boys, when Joseph gets a routine blood test for his military training with the Israeli army.

He doesn’t have the same blood group as his parents, which causes some distress, and eventually the family discovers he was inadvertently swapped at birth with a Palestinian who now lives with his family in the West Bank.

The film raises questions and issues around what constitutes race, ethnic identification and how these are regarded by families as well as the children. It also examines the differences between Palestinian and Israeli cultures as the families travel between Tel Aviv and the West Bank, encountering different living conditions and political environments.

The problems of where each boy should live – and what they are ethnically, culturally and religiously – are never resolved, but highlight the problems of any solutions to the Israeli / Palestinian problem.

Jule Sitruk (Joseph) and Mehdi Dehbi (Yacine – the Palestinian) give brilliantly low-key performances in which they often withhold emotions, adding significantly to the film's drama.