The Holy Land (2001)

Director:

Eitan Gorlin

Writer:

Eitan Gorlin (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A coming-of-age saga set against the tense backdrop of Arab-Israeli politics. Mendy is a young Rabbinical...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Oren Rehany	...	Mendy
Tchelet Semel	...	Natasha "Sasha" Sonsova
Saul Stein	...	Mike
Albert Iluz	...	Razi
Aryeh Moskona	...	The Exterminator (as Ariel Moskuna)
Alon Dahan	...	Reb Nocham (Mendy's Rabbi)
Mosko Alkalai	...	Professor Milan (as Moscu Alcalay)
Liat Bein	...	Mendy's Mother
Yehoyachin Friedlander	...	Mendy's Father
Lanny Shahaf	...	Exterminator's Wife
Lupo Berkowitch	...	Daryl (as Lupo Berkowitz)
Arie Hassfari	...	Jamal (schoolboy)
Harel Noff	...	Hobo Priest
Icho Avital	...	Bar Patron
Louise Asher	...	Screaming Lady
Jenny Fleicher	...	Stanislav (the boss)
Gregory Tal	...	Boris (the goon)
Igor Mirkurbanov	...	Vladimir Michalovitch (Russian Piano Teacher)
Julia Gilinski	...	Monika
Chovav Bar-Zilay	...	Older Customer
Josh Becker	...	Young Customer
Rav Shmuel	...	Himself
Jonathan Becker	...	Member Of Band
David Ruderman	...	Member Of Band
Yechezkel Mehi	...	Member Of Band
Tzlil Hamayan	...	Lili

Directed by
Eitan Gorlin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Eitan Gorlin		writer

Produced by
Isil Bagdadi	....	executive producer
Ran Borgin	....	producer
Arnon Regular	....	associate producer
Eyal Sadan	....	line producer
Michael Sergio	....	executive producer
Saul Stein	....	co-executive producer
Uri Yerushalmi	....	producer (as Udi Yerushalmi)

Original Music by
Chris Cunningham

Cinematography by
Nils Kenaston

Film Editing by
Josh Apter
Yair Elazar

Casting by
Kristine Bulakowski		(as Kristine Brulakowski)

Production Design by
Carl J. Stensel

Art Direction by
Ariel Glazer

Costume Design by
Laura Dinolesko		(as Laura Dinolsky)

Makeup Department
Eli Almani	....	hair stylist
Dana Gorea	....	makeup artist
Itzik Ochana	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Robert Warmflash	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yochanan Kredo	....	first assistant director
Alona Lichter	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Manolo Schor	....	property master
Christopher Sergio	....	graphic designer
Arie Weiss	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Ethan Beigel	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Ethan Beigel	....	print master
Itai Elohev	....	sound mixer
Eric Rolnick	....	additional sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Gal Altschuler	....	second grip (as Gal Altshuler)
Oren Arad	....	focus puller
Lior Danzig	....	still photographer
Noam Eisenberg	....	key grip (as Noam Eizenberg)
Ilan Katz	....	third electrician
Dimitry Matosov	....	camera loader
Shuki Paz	....	gaffer
Aviv Ziper	....	best boy electric (as Aviv Tsifer)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yael Kredo	....	wardrobe

Other crew
Doron Avrahami	....	coordinator
Tzipory Bar Yosef	....	production coordinator (as Tsipori Bar-Yosef)
Mark Cantor	....	production assistant
Peter Chernoff	....	story contributor
Karen Hatzor	....	production assistant
Uri Iss	....	accountant
Borys Jaromovych	....	title designer (as Borys Jarmovych)
Gal Kalfus	....	key production assistant
Ariel Enriquez Saulog	....	digital supervisor (as Ariel Saulog)
Zeev Steinmatz	....	accountant
Keren Sternfeld	....	script supervisor
Zohar Vodrero	....	location manager
Danny Wohl	....	story contributor
Rami Yerushalmi	....	script consultant
Ori Zuckerman	....	camp manager

Distributors

• CAVU Releasing (2003) (USA)
• Hart Sharp Video

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

Israel

Language:

English | Arabic | Russian | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Jerusalem, Israel

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003) (TV)

award-winning brilliant first film by Eitan Gorlin

i almost missed this gem of a movie. a number of critics have damned it with faint praise. fortunately, a lawyer friend of mine, Mike, had no particular interest in anything else currently showing. so, he agreed to see it with me, because it would count as "my pick" -- meaning that he would have the next pick.

"The Holy land" is a coming of age story. but the protagonist, Mendy, is not just any run-of-the-mill naif. he is a rabbinical student in Tel Aviv, and the scion of a line of ultra-orthodox rabbis. his family is wonderfully wholesome, while Mendy is unbearably horny. the head rabbi at his yeshiva, noting Mendy's inability to concentrate on his studies, cites a passage in the Talmud (while denying that he is advising it) that states that a young man who visits a professional female companion will come away more focused on his religious studies.

Mendy does not need to have his arm twisted. soon he finds a strip joint, goes in, meets the charming and beautiful Sasha, and falls in love with her. through Sasha he meets Mike, a larger than life character who owns a bar in Jerusalem where stock Arab and Jewish characters seamlessly mix in a sort of bizarre version of "Cheers".

it is a timeless story about the conflict in the soul of every young adult (who has a pulse) between the idealistic pull from above to transcend our human nature, and the tug from below to experience the pleasures of the flesh precisely at that point in life when we are most able to enjoy them. having been raised as an ultra-orthodox Jew, Mendy has grown up in a culture second to none in its seriousness about avoiding the distractions of the secular world. yet, as an intelligent and sensitive young man, Mendy can't help but be elated by seeing the maps in an atlas, to give just one example of how sheltered his life had been before then.

Oren Rehany deserves an Oscar for his performance as Mendy. he wordlessly conveys more emotion with the expressions on his face than most actors can deliver in a full blown soliloquy. Tchelet Semel, as Sasha, is not just "the girl". she's a fully developed character, with youth, beauty, and a mother back in Russia who needs money to pay for heat in the winter.

and, all of this takes place against the backdrop of Jerusalem -- site of the world's longest running battle for the soul of man. so, what's the catch? the catch is that you can't dramatize the conflict between the sacred and the profane if you leave out the profane. and, if you love Israel, you may feel uncomfortable with a film that spends so much time on the dark side of life there, especially the IDF's routine treatment of Palestinians. (who wouldn't be uncomfortable seeing the warts of one's beloved displayed on the big screen?) but, if you can get beyond that, this movie is well worth seeing.

oh, Mike was very grateful that i picked this movie ;-)