Adama Meshuga'at

I saw this one on Netflix, and if everything mentioned in the other reviews is in the movie, then the Netflix version cuts at least one episode a bit short. Elsewhere in the movie I noticed what seemed to be an unexplained jump slightly forward in time. But there was a complete story, and it was a good one, about a boy whose kibbutz is putting him through some pro forma tests of maturity for his (secular) bar mitzva while he's being tested much more seriously by real life as his mentally unstable mother has no one else to turn to. A memorial note at the end hints that the story has a certain autobiographical connection; I don't know whether it's direct or not. As other reviews here note, we see the kibbutz through a severely dystopian lens. It would be unfortunate if the audience comes away convinced that kibbutz life was always that bad. Some people remember childhood on the kibbutz as idyllic, although it obviously wasn't that way for everyone.

By the way, I have no idea why the title in English is "Sweet Mud." The Hebrew title means "Crazy Soil."

I saw this film in an audience of about 80 American Jews passionately devoted to Israel. Most had visited Kibbutzim, a number had lived on one or more. Some thought Dror Shaul's theme -- the claustrophobic atmosphere and pressure inflicted on a mentally unstable Kibbutz member -- reflected aspects of kibbutz life they had witnessed. Others saw it as a complete distortion of an Edenic, well-intentioned if ultimately unsuccessful, experiment. One thought it should not be shown to American audiences because it reflected badly on Israel. It is, frankly, an emotionally draining and heart-wrenching story about a youngster (Tomer Steinhof) and his unstable mother (Ronit Yudkevitz), whose instability is seriously aggravated if not caused by the unforgiving atmosphere on the kibbutz. Depending on your perspective, you might hate this film because it doesn't conform to your vision of kibbutz life. You may find it excessively unpleasant and dislike it for that reason. However, though it is undeniably dark, the movie is powerful, well-acted and beautifully directed. It provoked a long discussion among members of the audience whom I saw it with. Many were moved, some were angry. Most thought it was well worth seeing, as do I.

I think that it is unfair to say that this film is a vehicle to question the justification for a Jewish state, as the reviewer above notes. The film is a stark examination of the social and cultural pressures operating within the closed community of the kibbutz collective. No doubt, the response to the main character's illness both from the collective and from the individuals of the community receives harsh treatment here, but I fail to see this as a global condemnation of Israeli society. The main characters unraveling and her family's attempts to deal with this are very well done and the treatment is sincere and thoughtful. It's hard to believe that the story takes place as recently as 1974.Hadn't we come farther than that by then?

The cinematography in this film is somewhat fantastic. For this I feel the production team really succeeded and proved that amongst other international contemporary film makers, Israel can too present a film that is aesthetically pleasing.

In the director's cut, Dror Shaul claims that the film is of 'one boys vision' of his own current affairs and that there are no political views that hide behind the surface of the film. I disagree with this statement and although I have never experienced a Kibbutz before I am able to understand that this film takes on a very one-sided stance of the system, propaganda and regime of the kibbutz. Shaul fails to balance out the film and portrays it as an obsolete institute of total corrupt. He paints the opposite of an idealistic vision over it and I feel this might cause a bit of controversy amongst previous or current kibbutz members.

The story line is emotional. It really seems as though the director, team and actors have put a lot of effort and time into producing a story which is captivating yet subjective, submitting a senseful and sensitive drama which encourages the viewer to follow and react in accordance to the actors emotions.

It is a film to watch and certainly one of the greats of upcoming contemporary Israeli cinema.

I saw Sweet Mud at the Philadelphia Film Festival last night. My friend and I were expecting something slow-moving and maybe boring at times, but we were pleasantly surprised. The movie sold out (word must have gotten around) and you could tell by the audience's reactions that everyone loved it. This film gives such a detailed view of life on a commune, and at the same time it showed a young boy's struggle with his depressed single mother with plenty of comedic moments. I'm not much of a reviewer but I highly recommend seeing this film... it's playing again in Philadelphia this Tuesday at the Ritz Five, for those of you who live in the area!