Das fliegende Kamel

"The Flying Camel" was the symbol of a trade fair in Tel Aviv in the 30's. The symbol is the equivalent of the American expression "when pigs fly," adopted, I understand, because some suggested that the fair would succeed "when a camel flies." That bit of history, explained by an Israeli woman at the place I saw the film, is essential to understanding a film which is otherwise almost incomprehensible. It's also important to know that architecture of the Bauhaus period was widely employed in Tel Aviv during the 1930's. That heritage is what the Jewish professor who is the film's protagonist is trying to save. The other elements of the film are fairly straight forward and relatively easy to follow. The English subtitles are excellent (though I'm told they do not convey the flavor of the Hebrew spoken by the Arab "almost engineer" who is the professor's sidekick). And once the Italian "almost nun" comes on the scene, a good deal of the story is told in English, the only language shared by the three main characters. Not a great film by any means but amusing and, once you understand the central story line, easy to understand.