Once I Was

Sensitive, funny and smart. This movie stay with you days after watching. The directing is accurate and Adir Miller is great as the main actor (The match maker). The story really reflects the life in Israel in the late 60s' and early 70s'. The sad story of the holocaust survivors, combined with the stories of those Jews who were born in Israel, and those who immigrated from other countries rather then from Europe, or those who immigrated before WWII is shown in a very delicate way through the story of a young teenager and the matchmaker. The movie also raises some interesting moral issues and as said, It leaves you to think about it days afterwards. Great movie!!!

Star Adir Miller plays Holocaust survivor Yankele Bride, a shady matchmaker with some mysterious operations on the side. He takes on a wide-eyed young apprentice, Arik (Tuval Shafir), who just wants an easy summer job. Naturally, the boy gets more than he bargained for in this classic tale of an ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary situation.

Miller, a veteran television actor, writer, and producer, is captivating (and a dead ringer for Vincent D'Onofrio). He dominates the screen, masterfully orchestrating the actors, and action, in every scene he's in. Shafir plays the streetwise assistant with a magnetic vulnerability that charms everyone who crosses his path. He's quite experienced himself as a teen idol in his native country, having grown up on Israeli TV as the star of a long-running hit series.

Writer/director Avi Nesher is a true veteran (this is his 16th feature), and it shows. Production values are high, befitting a director considered an icon of Israeli cinema. Veteran cinematographer Michel Abramowicz effectively captures the dramatic landscape of this Mediterranean port city, filled with bright blue skies, lush vegetation, and sweeping mountain vistas. "The Matchmaker" uses multiple locations, both exterior as well as interior. Arik's youthful world is brightly lit with a vibrant primary color palette -- not the pale, washed out blues and grays typical of modestly budgeted European films. In contrast, the seedy underbelly of the city within which Yankele operates is ominously dark and dusty, filled with shadows and potential dangers lurking around every corner.

Although set in Haifa in 1968, "The Matchmaker" could easily be a classic American noir thriller-cum-coming-of-age dramatic comedy. The evocative soundtrack of original late 60s songs is a plus (Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"). Definitely worth repeat viewings.

"The Matchmaker" (or Once I Was in Hebrew) is a movie by Avi Nesher, one of Israel's finest directors and one who has shaped Israeli cinema for decades.

The movie centers around the memories of an author, when he was a kid in 1968 in Haifa and the relationship he had with his father's childhood friend, Yankale Bride (Adir Miller).

Yankale Bride is a Matchmaker who recruits Erik (Tuval Shaffir, the author) for a summer job to search for people who wish to get married. The movie centers around all of Erik's tales and adventures during that summer vacation: How he falls in love with Tamara (Neta Porat), how he writes about his life as a mystery book, his love for spy and mystery tales and his encounter with the secrets of his fellow Yankale Bride.

Adir Miller and Maya Dagan are a good duo together throughout the whole film. The rest of the cast is perfect and lovely. The focus on the characters is really delicate. The movie shows the struggle of the characters facing the aftermath of the Holocaust and how people didn't know much about it.

The movie in general focuses on the theme of coming to age among kids, most certainly Erik, who narrates the movie throughout its span. Overall I really enjoyed it, Avi Nesher is known to be a director who focuses on many themes and genres in his movies, just like Spielberg. Even though many believe his movies to be too deep and heavy, this one is less heavy and more emotional and entertaining. Highly recommend it.

1. Not the greatest actors and accents but it boasts carefully written dialogue, captivating characters, and an aesthetically pleasing 70's summer vibe of the region.

2. This movie packs dating angst and teenage nostalgia (for today's boomers), which isn't difficult to relate - mandela effect, anyone? ;P

3. The plot has a nice pace (no stalling/filler imo) and there are moral lessons all along the way. Some lines even came back to me just now; so I decided to recommend it.

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THIS is how movies should be made -- but all to often are not...! When it comes to the movies that have been coming out in the past 30-plus years, but most especially the past 15 years, I pretty much have lost my appetite for film-watching as a hobby. Fortunately, there are some exceptions to the rule, the THE MATCHMAKER, set in Israel, is one of them! Forget the Hollywood formula flicks, special effects, "cool" creeps and so much in recent films that have all but ruined movies for me. Once in a while, when I have just about lost all hope, I can still find a jewel like this film.

I'm not going to tell you anything about it, except that it is "all that," without the vulgarities that run rampant in films today or the philosophical slants that try to convince the viewer that black is white and white is black. Nope. It's just excellent -- the story line, the cinematography, the acting, the settings. Just plain excellent. BRAVO!