The Bubble

September 7, 2007 0 By Fans
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Plot

The movie follows a group of young friends in the city of Tel Aviv and is as much a love song to the…

Release Year: 2006

Rating: 7.1/10 (2,559 voted)

Critic's Score: 61/100

Director:
Eytan Fox

Stars: Ohad Knoller, Yousef 'Joe' Sweid, Daniella Wircer

Storyline
The movie follows a group of young friends in the city of Tel Aviv and is as much a love song to the city as it is an exploration of the claim that people in Tel Aviv are isolated from the rest of the country and the turmoil it's going through. The movie looks at young people's lives in Tel Aviv through the POVs of gays and straights, Jews and Arabs, men and women. It all begins when Noam, a young Israeli soldier, serves in the reserve forces and meets at a check point a Palestinian young man called Ashraf. Following an incident during which Noam misplaces his ID card at the check point, Ashraf shows up on the doorstep of the apartment that Noam shares with a gay man and a straight woman. How will the meeting affect all of their lives?

Writers: Gal Uchovsky, Eytan Fox

Cast:

Ohad Knoller

Noam


Yousef 'Joe' Sweid

Ashraf


Daniella Wircer

Lulu


Alon Friedman

Yali

(as Alon Freidmann)


Zohar Liba

Golan


Tzion Baruch

Shaul

(as Zion Baruch)


Oded Leopold

Sharon


Ruba Blal

Rana, Ashraf's Sister


Shredi Jabarin

Jihad

(as Shredy Jabarin)


Yael Zafrir

Orna


Noa Barkai

Ella


Yotam Ishay

Chiki


Eliana Bakier

Dalfi

(as Eliana Bekiyer)


Avital Barak

Dana


Lior Ashkenazi

Himself – Actor in "Bent"



Details

Official Website:
MySpace |
Official site [Israel] |

Release Date: 7 September 2007

Filming Locations: Alenbi Street, Tel Aviv, Israel



Box Office Details

Budget: $1,500,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $38,882
(USA)
(9 September 2007)
(10 Screens)

Gross: $157,121
(USA)



Did You Know?

Trivia:

The play that several characters go to watch in this movie is a real play, "Bent" by Martin Sherman, which was first produced in 1979 in London (with Ian McKellen in the lead role) and then in New York (with Richard Gere taking over for McKellen). The play is about the persecution of gay people at the hands of the Nazis, and was one of the first works to bring attention to that aspect of the Holocaust. The play was made into the movie
Bent.



User Review

Amazing film

Rating: 10/10

I am currently on vacation in Israel for summer, and so was able to see
this incredible film. A bit of a warning before I begin writing: I
speak fluent Hebrew, and so the Hebrew parts were no problem; however,
about a quarter (a bit less) of the film is in Arabic, and I was unable
to understand a bit of this subtitled bit. This did not detract from my
understanding of the film, but did cause me to miss a few jokes which
evoked some strong laughs in the theater.

After a year of American Cinema which many hailed as one of the
greatest years for homosexual cinema and relationships, it takes
something truly special to stand head and shoulders above the rest;
yet, "The Bubble" surpasses all others with its blend of excellent
acting, witty dialogue, and relevant political climate.

The film opens on a checkpoint on the Israeli-Palestinian border; For
the first few moments, we are unsure about the type of movie we have
walked in on. Yet, this is an important element of this film's
strength. The political situation, and the extreme tension in the air
is constantly in the background. Most importantly, Tel Aviv serves as a
character of its own in this film. It is constantly referenced. Street
names and restaurant names are constantly exchanged. The skyline and
city development is critiqued quite harshly, and ultimately the city
evolves along with the film The film focuses on the love between Noam
(Ohad Knoller) and a Palestinian immigrant, Ashraf(Yousef 'Joe' Sweid),
with the societies of Tel Aviv and Palestine serving as a constant
foil. We always know that their relationship is forbidden, and this
creates a sense of urgency rarely present in cinema. The love is
incredibly strong, and stands as the centerpiece of the film. The
secondary relationships and friendships are equally strong: flamboyant
restaurant owner Yelli's ( Yousef 'Joe' Sweid) relationship with the
ultra-butch and grating golani solider, Golan (Zohar Liba), is
particularly a source of amusement. The love scenes which abound in
this film are all exquisite, fine crafted works of art, and the
cinematography is astounding: In the first love scene of the film, the
camera pans down as a male character gives oral sex to Lulu (Daniela
Virtzer), and dissolves into a shot of Noam and Ashraf. This shot any
many others lead the viewer to realize that all of these relationships
are expressions of the very same form of love.

To give away more of the storyline would be a tragedy, but know that
there is a lot of political tension and tragedy which touches onto the
current world political climate, so I will instead focus on the witty
dialogue. Even when watching this movie in my second language, I could
not stop laughing throughout. Lines of particular amusement include the
question of whether gay suicide bombers receive virgin women or men in
heaven, and an analogy of Sampson from the bible as the worlds first
suicide bomber. This dialogue shows a particular sense of purity and
reality which is rarely seen in Cinema. The music used in the film is
also particularly powerful. Music is only used in times when characters
legitimately could or should be listening to it, and in one scene the
music weakens when a character removes one earphone and stops when he
removes the other. Little elements like this truly elevate the film.

I could not give greater recommendation to a film; this is a superb
work of cinema which is catharthic as well as extremely well crafted.