ALILA (2003) - ♦♦♦

Directed by - Amos Gitai

Written by - Amos Gitai, Marie-Jose Sanselme (based on the novel 'Returning Lost Loves' by Yehoshua Kenaz)

Starring - Yael Abecassis, Hana Laszlo, Uri Klauzner

"This film follows the lives of multiple characters, who are the inhabitants of an apartment complex in Tel Aviv, and their intertwining lives.

Alila by Amos Gitai can be admired for its audacity at creating a type of microcosm setting. Another admirable element is the excellent camerawork, that contributes to a certain solid and fluid rhythm to the film, as we shift from one event to the next.

The content is far less rewarding. On top of the overall concept lacking in focus, the socio political study of the Israeli setting is even more baffling and disappointingly shallow. The characters themselves are tough to understand, as are their intentions."

Drama, Israel/France