YOSSI MADMONI

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BB

Original title:  Makom be-gan eden

Israel, 2013.  Avi Chai fund, Channel 10, Israel Film Fund, Movie Plus, United King Films.  Screenplay by Yossi Madmoni.  Cinematography by Boaz Yehonatan Yaacov. Produced by Leon Edery, Moshe Edery, David Mandil.  Music by Ophir Leibovitch.  Production Design by Miguel Markin.  Costume Design by Laura Sheim.  Film Editing by Arik Leibovitch.  

This dull film begins with an Israeli officer trading his place in heaven for a month of good meals from a base camp cook, returning from a mission with a hunger that goes beyond physical need.  Years later, following a successful marriage and family life, the officer lies on his deathbed and his conservatively religious son worries that he will not find his place in the afterlife because of the deal he struck so many years before.

Finding the cook, who was also a Holocaust survivor, after so long means reliving years of memories, a relationship and further conflicts: it all sounds rich and fascinating, but Yossi Madmony’s direction is lifeless and the characters have no spark to them.  It’s quite a chore to sit through, which is a shame given the richness of the narrative.

Toronto International Film Festival:  2013