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July 11, 2003
By Veronica Mixon
Writer/director Eitan Gorlin's The Holy Land is an
intimate look in a world seldom seen
by most Western moviegoers. We witness
the aftermath of bombs on buses and
in restaurants and supermarkets on TV
news but we never get a glimpse of the
people who are simply trying to live
in war torn Israel. Despite the deep
division between Arab and Jew, Gorlin
explores the daily closeness of the
two and makes the viewer ponder the
fate of gaggle of underground misfits.
Mendy (Oren Rehany) is a young orthodox
Jew who is consumed with lust. His every
waking minute is spent masturbating
to images of sexy women. When his rabbi
catches him with a novel by Herman Hesse,
he suggests that maybe the boy should
seek out a woman - non-Jewish, of course
- in another town to rid himself of
this distraction. Stunned, Mendy leaps
on the idea and journeys from his suburban
home to Tel Leve to visit a strip club.
There he meets Sasha (Tchelet Semel),
a pretty Russian prostitute and he's
instantly smitten. She's about business
and even though Mendy wants sex, he
also wants female companionship. He's
innocent and naïve and as Sasha's
jaded voice-over informs us at the beginning
of the film, Israel is a grim misogynistic
world where men treat women like dogs.
Sasha's innocence was destroyed long
ago and in fact, the piano teacher who
stole that innocence comes into the
club one night!
On his second visit to the club, Sasha
greets Mendy and then goes off with
a regular customer, Mike (Saul Stern).
Later, outside of the club, he strikes
up a conversation with the boisterous
Mike and the bar owner from Jerusalem
insists he comes by for a party. "I
didn't think there were bars in Jerusalem,"
says Mendy and he discovers an incredibly
different world from the cloistered
religious one that he's lived in his
entire life.
Mike, an American who has been to several
war torn nations including Sareavo,
admits that he enjoys the chaos. His
bar is filled with Arabs, Jews, druggies,
malcontents and prostitutes. It's a
mainly male world disgusted with war
and regular domesticity and filled with
drink, drugs and the possibility of
illicit sex. Mendy is enthralled and
immediately devises a plan to move to
Jerusalem. He lies to his parents and
tells them that he'll study at a local
school. He immediately makes Mike's
bar and his apartment his main domiciles
while he tries to convince Sasha that
he's worthy of her attention whether
she's paid or not. Meanwhile, he befriends
a radical Jew known called Exterminator
(Arie Moskuna) and a shady Arab con
man, Razi (Albert Illooz).
The Holy Land
is a terrific coming-of-age tale that
explores the complexities of the human
spirit. While Mendy's yearning for love
may seem naïve to the adult men
around him, it's rather touching especially
when you consider that he's going through
normal adolescence in war torn Israel.
Gorlin slyly juxtaposes the intensely
religiousness of Jews and Arabs whose
world never recognizes the grim reality
of Sasha's enslavement to her Jewish
pimp. Mendy's parents love seems pure
and sensual as the mother freely displays
her breasts for a newborn in front of
the father but Mendy's sexual torment
is also very real.
Gorlin's subtle presentation of daily
life and politics also makes a powerful
statement. In the bar, everyone becomes
acquainted and even friendly to the
point of being mildly annoying over
drinks. On a road trip, Mike, Mendy,
Sasha and Razi travel into the desert
resting with Arab hosts at beautiful
shady oasis in the shadow of an ancient
stone wall but at a police check point,
Arabs are subjected to extensive searches.
Of course, Razi breezes through while
other Arabs are harassed. It's a gentle
reminder of the hostiles and the ending
is a harsher statement. Meanwhile, poor
lovesick Mendy tries to figure out how
to handle his feelings especially since
he's unwilling to give up the freedom
he's tasted. The Holy Land
is a wonderful little movie!
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