I screened Zero Motivation at Tribeca this week. The early signs were positive: - its nominated for best narrative feature; - the director's prior film - a short - won # awards; - Talya Lavie worked on the script at the Sundance Film Institute. Sadly, all those 1st impressions came crashing to the ground: - the acting performances are nothing special; - the script is at time awkward and full of gender stereotypes and clichés; - the audience reaction was all over the map. The story line is pretty straightforward. Zohar serves her two years working in a boring back office function at an IDF base. She befriends Daffi and they twosome become close. Daffi aspires to live in Tel Aviv, & somehow manages to complete officer training to fulfill her wish. Alas, Daffi's 1st assignment takes her back to her former unit, where the two inevitably tangle. In a Q&A following the screening, a member of the cast suggested the plot was a "realistic portrayal of life in the IDF" and the plot of this dark comedy represented a microcosm of Israeli society. If this sad state of affairs is realistic, God help Israel!
Review of Zero Motivation
