Alila (2004)

Editor's Note Amos Gitai paints a vivid, gritty portrait of life in modern-day Israel with this multi-character study of intertwining lives in and around a Tel Aviv apartment complex. Ezra (Uri Klauzner) is a building contractor who sleeps in his van with his illegal Asian immigrant workers outside his ex-wife Mali's (Hanna Laslo) door while building an extension to the building, much to the annoyance of the elderly residents, one of whom is a concentration camp survivor. Meanwhile, the son of Ezra and Mali, Eyali (Amit Mestechkin) runs away from his mandatory stint in the Israeli army and Mali's friend, the beautiful, troubled Gabi (Yael Abecassis) has a rendezvous with her married lover Hezi (Amos Lavie) for some loud, torrid sex scenes in one of the rooms. The camerawork here is first rate, capturing the action in a series of extended single takes separated by fadeouts with the camera moving through, inside and out of the apartment building and elsewhere in Tel Aviv, capturing the city's rundown vibe. Director-writer Gitai adds a voice-over to the credits in one of the film's many unusual touches. A prolific chronicler of Israeli life whose films include KADOSH (2000) and KIPPUR (2000), Gitai gives his actors a lot of room to improvise, and the performances in ALILA are generally strong, with the lovely Abecassis a standout. The story is based on a book by Yehoshua Kenaz.

	Amit Mestechkin
	Yosef Carmon
	Lup Berkowitch
	Hanna Laslo
	Amos Lavie
	Uri Ran Klauzner
	Liron Levo
	Yael Abecassis
	Ronit Elkabetz
	Lyn Shiao Zamir
	Amos Gitai - Screenwriter
	Amos Gitai - Producer
	Michael Tapuach - Co-Producer
	Marie-Jose Sanselme - Screenwriter
	Yehoshua Kenaz - Source Writer
	Renato Berta - Director of Photography
	Amos Gitai - Director