Movie Reviews

Irena’s Vow gives us a look into the life of the kind of person we all hope we would be if we found ourselves tested like this.

Were the narrator who tells the story in the framing device anyone other than the incomparable Helen Mirren, White Bird wouldn’t have worked nearly as well as it does. 

Farewell Column, set about three years ago, tells the story of Karmi, a political columnist who has offended some very thuggish people with a column criticizing the Netanyahu government.

Luc Besson is a born storyteller and his films, including DogMan, are undeniably entertaining. He knows how to pick actors with great presence. 

Recreating the East Village of decades ago will be fun for adult viewers, but not for the vast majority of children, so ignore how appealing this movie looks on the poster and don’t bring your kids.

For all its virtues, The Holdovers invites unfortunate comparisons to the ne plus ultra of teacher-student bonding movies, Wonder Boys.

If you can flow with the feelings behind the movie and see it as a well-observed version of the psyche of a fragile and traumatized child, you will find much to enjoy.

The sadness at the core of this movie goes deep, as it focuses on a world where any human connection and sensuality connected to sex has been washed away by rivers of alcohol. 

Plan A focuses on questions of justice, revenge, redemption, and healing that are as relevant today as they were in 1945. The movie opened throughout Israel on January 11. 

Here are my 10 best international films this year (with one exception, these all played in movie theaters in Israel), followed by the 10 best Israeli movies.