A Day of Israeli Cinema in Chicago

Shmuel had lost his Israeli friend in a German airport. A kind German airport employee makes an announcement over the intercom. But Shmuel’s friend, Siso, only speaks Hebrew. So Shmuel grabs the microphone from the startled employee and starts screaming Hebrew throughout the airport.

It seemed like a microcosmic example of Israeli cultural bravado, I thought as I sat in Highland Park Theater and watched a screening of Metallic Blues at a mini version of the Israeli Film Festival on Sunday, Nov. 20. It was hard to imagine an American doing that!

The festival, an all-day affair, featured screenings of seven Israeli films. Sitting in the theater waiting for the movie start, I think I heard more people talking in Hebrew than in English.

I saw Metallic Blues, a movie about two Israeli auto mechanics who buy a metallic blue, limited edition 1985 Lincoln Town Car limousine for a cheap 5,000 euros from a Palestinian who is in desperate need of cash. Upon learning that a similar car could sell for up to 50,000 in Europe, the two decide to go to Germany to try make their fortune.

Obviously, things go wrong. But it was interesting to watch Shmuel cope with being in Germany, the country responsible for the Shoah. He initially daydreams about moving to Germany with his family, where he could live with all the comforts of a booming Western economy and forget the daily violence back in Israel. Yet his initial optimism is slowly tempered as he begins hallucinating about the Germany his parents fled 60 years ago. By the end of the film, Shmuel appears to realize that Jews only have one homeland: Israel.

Aside from a humorous plot line, the film provided other insights into Israeli culture. While the characters are in Germany, there is a pigua – Hebrew for suicide bombing – in Israel. It was interesting to watch the characters frantically call home to make sure their families were all right, a routine that I knew must have become chillingly familiar for Israelis during the worst months of the Second Intifadah.

All in all, I’d say the movie was more funny than serious. And there were times during the film when the audience started bawling for apparently no reason. There must have been some inside Israeli jokes.

Next time, I’ll have to brush up on my Israeli humor before the show.