15th Annual Israeli Film Festival continues until June 10:
The 15th annual Israeli Film Festival opened on May 24 in the brand new Alma Duncan Salon in the Ottawa Art Gallery , a space of brilliant light and wondrous new urban perspectives that project us way above downtown Ottawa making us feel as though we were floating somewhere between New York and another huge capital in a completely unknown space! . Presented by the Canadian Film Institute and the Embassy of Israel this particular festival runs from May 24 to June 10 and judging by the opening work, The Cakemaker (of Berlin), Israeli filmmakers are dealing in a most delicate way with all the contemporary artistic and sociopolitical debates, that are fuelling discussion in our contemporary world.
The Cakemaker (From Berlin) created the impression that director Ofir Raul Graizer’s first feature film, could be the work of a highly skilled director of actors who seems to be able to draw out the slightest nuances of individual meaning by sculpting each human face to make it an original and expressive surface with endless possibilities. Thomas (Tim Kahlkof) runs a pastry shop and bakery in Berlin. We see him standing over his baking board sprinkling handfuls of flour over the dough that he slowly kneads over and over again, turning, twisting, pulling, flattening, softening it with his fingers, and heating that substance until it is warm enough to roll out each loaf in its traditional shape. Oren an Israeli engineer working in Berlin returns regularly to get those delicious cookies, sticky struddle, and lusciously soft fruit filled pastries that you can almost smell in that little café as the local customers come in to taste and spend a delicious few minutes enjoying the peace and quiet of the shop. The camera catches them in a shadow as the lights go down, Not a word is spoken but much feeling oozes from that encounter in the clairobscur of the evening., In fact the dialogue is reduced to an almost less than minimum.
It is not important to explain the whole narrative but the main event concerns a death that affects several families and including Oren’s family in Jerusalem, his wife and son. Thomas appears in Israel, meets the wife in her café and chance allows them to work together as the young German plunges deeply into Israeli society reliving the world of his lover and trying to fit together the parts of him that remained unknown.
Before the film started, we were told that this is not a political film, it is not ideological, its about people trying to live their lives as they wish. One has to admit however, that no work of art is ever neutral and that one’s place in the world is usually represented in a creative effort, one way or another . This film is no exception.
First the camera focusses on Thomas’ face, the almost emotionless eyes that suggest hidden tears, his every slight smile, his pleasure when he helps Anat (Sarah Adler) make the cakes, and cookies for her son’s birthday. It all appeared to be lived so deeply that words were not needed. The actor watching and trying to understand and then to feel what Oren felt in the midst of his family. The making of cakes and cookies as his hands plunge into the dough becomes a highty sensual experience, an outpouring of his feeling for his dead lover in Oren’s own home but as well a sense of wanting to get closer to those whom Oren loved. One of the most uncomfortable moments was the awakening of Anat, as she caresses Thomas and encourages him to kiss her never knowing that he is gay and the way this flowed into a natural but at first uncomfortable gesture for the Berliner was made very clear by the faces, the hands and the breathing of the couple as it moves into a new level of their relationship,
However underlying Thomas’ stay in Jerusalem is a constant malaise and tension because as soon as we see that Anat’s family is religious, (Thomas mustn’t cook on the Sabbath, the Café must remain stricktly Kosher and Anat’s son must not eat those cookies) while Anat is not particulary observant we know that something terrible will occur because the more traditional the thinking the more difficult it would be to accept a gay man in that atmosphere. However, the plot twists around to make this all a lot more ambivalent.
The movie soon becomes a search for clues as little by little Anta opens her husbands things. Looks at the bills in his private affairs, finds his phone, and astonishing discoveres are revealed .Even Thomas is surprised and very disturbed by what he hears. Thus questions of religion are central, as well as sexual identity but they are all kneaded together like the dough on Thomas’ bread board to become inseperable . Thus we have difficulty pinpointing any specific cause for what eventually transpires, except that the human reactions are extremely powerful because they are not diluted by words that usually slide over the truth,. The truth is captured by that inquisitive and soul searching camera that follows the actors so closely. And the conclusion, , which also appears ambiguous is perfectly logical in that wordless flow of feeling.
A most beautifully made film that revealed the great artistry of director Graizer, his camera and his lighting crew. They infused much meaning into those small spaces where the characters often remained enclosed, where the sensuality of the chocolate cake, those transgressive creamy fillings and fruit dripping with syrup , displaced the sexual excitement to places of forbidden identities that always remain unspoken. .
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http://www.israelifilmfestival.ca/ for times and titles of films….
All takes place in the beautiful new theatre at 2 Daly Ave.