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ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL 2001 Send This Review to a Friend
The 17th annual festival of Israeli films is an ambitious one held in three other United States cities as well as in New York, including Los Angeles (March 27-April 5), Chicago (April 28-May 3) and Miami (May 5-10)
"Time of Favor," which opened the New York event (February 22-March 8) is one of the better films to emerge from Israel in recent years. The drama, written and directed by Joseph Cedar, deals melodramatically with a plan by right-wing zealots in the military to blow up a mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by going in through tunnels to set off explosives.
The film could do without its emphasis on a romantic entanglement, needed more for plot than for drama. This is the sort of film that has its most power in the action plans and counter-maneuvers that lead up to the climax. Once that aspect gets going the film picks up strength, which is also gained from tackling the controversial rightist elements in the country.
On the New York opening night, held in the Directors Guild of America Theater, a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to renowned director Sidney Lumet, and a Visionary Award was presented to Laurence Kardish, senior curator at the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Film and Video. Film critic Joel Siegel chaired the event, with actress Isabella Rossellini presenting the Lumet award and actress-director Lee Grant presenting the Kardish award.
The New York Festival was booked into the Clearview Cinemas 59th Street East Theatre by the IsraFest Foundation, Inc., under the direction of its founder Meir Fenigstein. Among the numerous attractions: the U.S. premieres of director Danny Verete's "Yellow Asphalt," director Marek Rosenbaum's "The Investigation Must Go On" and director Oded Davidoff's "Clean Sweep." Amos Gitai's "Kippur" was also scheduled as a highlight.
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