Essay Example on Israeli Films: Mirrors of History & Creative Contexts

Introduction

With the Israeli film gathering popularity among the film industry, it is always based on the context of the films. The different films produced have incorporated the occurrence of the historical gestures in the film. The films are then seen as unique and also creative. In the same context, different films mirror different parts of the history of Israel, some having the same context of an occurrence like the civil wars, which were common in the region before and after the formation of Israel as a state. The representation of the films around the whole world has been received by critics in both a negative and positive way based on the film. Below are several films, how they best mirrored the history of the country, and how they are represented and accepted by audiences who were outside the country.

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Sallah

Sallah, as a film, borrows the idea of explaining the life of the people living in Israeli. It brings out the comical side of the story as well as the educational part of the history of Israel. Produced in 1964, it proves that in the history of Israel, there had been immigrant issues as well as problems the immigrants faced after resettling. 'Aliyah,' which is means going up in Israeli, is the terminology used when explaining the immigration of the people from diaspora to inside the lands of Israel. Due to its occurrence over time, there has been an approval of the Jewish immigrants to acquire the rights of citizenship of Israel. According to history, it was in the time viewed as an aspiration for the Jews who lived outside Israel to practice aliyah. Since 1882, was when the Zionist movement inside Israel began. Since the state was formally established in 1948, around 3 million Jews moved to the country. The numbers have continued to grow, with the whole population of Israel made of around 42.9% immigrated Jews. The film occurs in the context of the reality occurring in the country on the year which the film was produced. The year in which the production happened would seem to have been among the years in which immigration was extremely rampant. So, in plea to bringing the reality of the film, certain aspects of the state of the country, such as immigration, would not be simply ignored.

Outside Israel, the film won the Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language film, also being comical. The film is also represented as a way in which the directors are exposed to the outside of Israeli and get more ideas put into play because of their creativity. The more significant part of the audience involved would also see the situation as it is in Israel as per the context of the movie. The films were not only viewed as a way of informing the world regarding the living state of the country. It also seemed that the film was meant to attract donations for the country to improve the living standards of the country, at least. The films also posed as a quest for other countries to immigrate into Israel.

For documentary and propaganda films, the whole world had a different view of what they stood for. It is also deemed of esteem that the film was much appreciated by different countries, with a majority gaining translation to English. For the aid of learning Israeli history and also the purpose of entertainment. Though the film Sallah received a lot of mixed audience reactions, it was among the most successful unprecedented box office in Israel. Due to its appearance in the box office, it gained around 1.3 million spectators. It also received a lot of acknowledgment securing the spot for the beginning and also the end of the Berlin film festival. It also gathered nomination for the best Academy Award but did not scoop the title, losing it to an Italian film. Aside from the critical reception, it was clear that the plot was interpreted differently outside Israel. The plot was meant to be a comical way to satirize the political and also the social stereotypes which were in Israel at the time of the film production.

The film is of the unique plot of Sallah Shabati as a Jew from Egypt, spending his time playing backgammon and also trying to find his means for the survival of his pregnant wife and seven kids (Kishon). Upon their move to Israel, they discover that they have to live in a transit camp for a while before they could save up and get decent housing. However, they get to meet people who are in the camp explaining how hard it was to move with several spending up to six years in the camp. His methods of acquiring the money he would need form the basic plot of the film as his ways are comical. It is then seen in the plot that Sallah becomes contrary to the Kibbutz's concept of communal ownership of their goods in comparison to sole ownership. Outside the environment in Israel, thoughts of Sallah regarding the lives of the Kibbutz are seen as a mockery for the institutions formed based on Zionism. They also resemble the bureaucracy, with division only being among the simple workers and those in managerial positions. Globally, outside Israel, they portray total indifference and also the miserable conditions experienced by those that live below the poverty line in Israel.

Siege

In the 1969 film Siege, the most mirrored concept of the history of Israel, as shown in the film, is the violence that is overtime seen as a considerable part of the history of Israeli history. As per the history of the country, the war began upon the establishment of the Israel State in 1948. The disputes were a result of the intercommunal violence between Israeli's and Arabs. It became most hostile and resulted in the civil war in the year 1948. The plot of the film is in the context of civil wars, which affected the country by that time. The film only shows the continuing of the wars that were imposed on Israel as a state. The situation of the film also mirrors the Siege that took place. With the modern interpretation of the Siege as the Jewish symbol for heroism, it involved the act of forging the implementation of the national identity of the Israelis. It is also a modern symbol for the courage that was shown by the Israelis based on how they fought and held onto Masada for about three years.

The struggle against the aggression of the empire basing their decision on death rather than slavery. For the military, after the Siege was done, Masada then stood as a symbol for the national heritage of the Israeli. The film portrays wars that occurred in Masada, and in the historical view of the concept behind the film, there is proper evidence that shows just how much mass suicide occurred in Masada. The woman whose husband dies in the war, which brought out the concept of the civil wars which were experienced in Israel, is adamant about moving on with her life (Amgon & Kagan). However, the forces that need her to stay put and keep her husband's memory alive are so many. According to her in-laws, she is supposed to grieve for her husband forever. The plot of the film is built on her refusal to sticking to the traditions and needs of the family and friends of her late husband.

From outside the country, the film has been appreciated and also gained popularity worldwide. It was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film festival. For the rest of the world, it would seem as though Israel is stick stuck onto its traditions of the wife of the bereaved, keeping the memory of her husband alive. It is also in the public eye that Israel is suffering from violence and continues to suffer violence. The concept of the film was not only based on the historical background of Israel but was also based on the cultural background of Israelis. It is seen that according to the Hebrew culture, a woman could only get married to the brother of her husband and was purely for the intent of child making. Otherwise, it was expected that the woman would stay as a widow in her mother in law's house, grieving her husband forever.

With the representation of the film being classified among the films which are best from Israel, it is represented as one of the new sensitivity films. Such focus on the existence of a love triangle. The protagonist faces a struggle between her culture and her untimely lover. Though the wave which would have best classified the films was not discovered till the late 1970s, the film which runs short of a nominee is still represented outside Israel. The woman is seen as influential in her rebellious nature to keep her life going on and not influenced by the cultural ideologies of her place of existence. It represents that aside from the fact that Israel is a war toned country, there are also aspects of Israel that are hidden under the war. As per the film, they include the culture of the people and the emotions of the people who belong to the war toned countries.

Waltz with Bashir

The 2008 film based on the classification of being a documentary, as well as a drama film, bore some of its unique features contrast to the other Israeli films. The film mirrors history in the aspect of acknowledging the existence of war. The war is far much expounded since it acknowledges that there were infantry soldiers in the Lebanon war. With the history still not being as ancient as that of Israel going to war with the Nazis, the war also shows history in the context of modern Israel since its occurrence would only take place after the war, which happened in 2006. The war was over a section in which the Lebanese nationals would reside as they occupied Israel n their eighteen years. The Lebanese were thus not willing to give out the land to Israelis and would only stop the war when an Israeli leader would hold a speech of victory for the Lebanese in plea to releasing the state. The Lebanese thus saw the war as an opportunity to get even to their suffering under Israelis.

There was a war from both troupes, with each seeking that the later would give up the land and during the war were the infantry troupes used. The land, also known as 'Bint Jbeil,' was left to the Lebanese after the Israelis withdrew from the war and sent Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to offer the victory speech. The title of the film is used in explaining the short war which happened between the Lebanese and Israelis. The latter situation is given the name Waltz with Bashir, who was by then the Lebanon president, Bashir Gemayel. Violence is still seen as a large contributor to the activities that happen in Israel.

The Israeli film was represented with brutal honesty to the people who were not well aware of the occurrence during the wars. Even in the modern Israeli time, where there were doctors as depicted in the storyline of the film, there were still practices like children joining the militia in the aid to the country wars. The film not only shows originality but also shows the development of the country since the war to the current affairs. According to the plot of the story, there is the development of medical services as Folman has a friend who served in the army as a psychologist. The latter shows despite the war being faced by the country that there is the development of social amenities. There is also the revelation of psychological torture. Folman experienced amnesia, which was first confirmed by his friend, who was also suffering from amnesia. The duo would both get dreams as flashbacks coming from their occurrence in war.

From the film ignoring the aspect of critics and the development of life in the country, it is relayed that those involved in war went through a lot of torture. They would be physically hurt to being verbally hurt, all of which had effects on them. Their physical hurting would be through the harsh conditions in which people lived during the war. The war involved a lot of camouflage to attack the enemies, which is not comfortable for the participants of the war. The victims of the war, soldiers would get shot and injured in the war, with some succumbi...