Se Renta

Great acting, amazing concept and storyline. It moved me to tears at some moments and it make me burst out loud in others. Such honest portrait of human beings. I'm so glad to have met those characters.

Another superior gay-themed movie from Eytan Fox, the Israeli director of Cupcakes and Yossi and Jagger, among others. It's a simple, but well-observed story about a moment between two gay men from different cultures and different generations. Best of all, it's a showcase for the talents of John Benjamin Hickey, excellent in so many US TV series, from The Big C to Manhattan. It's nice to see him as the leading man. And he's well-matched by Niv Nissem, a young actor with the looks and charisma to make his character, who pretty much embodies the arrogance of youth, attractive. Sublet is also a pretty good snapshot of Tel Aviv, and of Israeli youth. I particularly liked Daria, the would- be dancer who decides she's going to rebel by being completely selfish. Worth the effort if you're in the mood for an intelligent, gentle, quietly moving movie.

The story is subtle and touching. It tells a good story of both the simplicity and complexity of human relations. We can never be defined by one ROLE or one NAME. And love and passion also could have different forms.

Sublet (2020) was co-written and directed by Eytan Fox.

John Benjamin Hickey plays Michael, a middle-aged travel writer for the New York Times. Michael visits Tel Aviv as part of his work.

He sublets an apartment from Tomer (Niv Nissim). Michael invites Tomer to stay in the apartment, and Tomer becomes his guide to the real Tel Aviv.

Michael is gay. Tomer is young and bisexual. The plot revolves around whether their friendship will turn to intimacy.

I enjoyed this film. The actors are excellent, and I learned more about non-tourist Tel Aviv.

We saw this movie virtually as part of the always outstanding Rochester Jewish Film Festival. The movie has a tepid IMDb rating of 6.9. I thought that it was better than that, and rated it 8.

A Jewish-American travel writer returns to Tel-Aviv for the 1st time as an adult. He is staying for 5 days, intending to write an article about non-tourist Tel-Aviv. He sublets an apartment rather than stay in a hotel, where the occupant, a pansexual, commitment-free university student of film studies, is planning on couch-surfing with friends for the duration. The writer ends up hiring the student to show him his world, while dealing with a disagreement with his husband back home.

There is an interesting view of what actual student life might be like, with glimpses of the cultural viewpoints of young Israelis, especially in contrast with older Americans - e.g. the writer is appalled that young artists are interested in hip Berlin as a career destination. There are also interesting reflections of what others see of you.