Ayn levana

A heavy and touching short, for a white bicycle ... What a horrendous outcome, in the synopsis he seemed to fight for his humanity, but he only won revenge and resentment, screwing with the life of a family man and destroying a good he wanted, I felt angry of this short, sensational, Israeli masterpiece...

Interesting, I suppose, that both the Israeli (this, "White Eye") and Palestinian ("The Present" (2020)) films nominated for Live-Action Short Oscars this season are both critical of the indignities and injustices inflicted upon ordinary people by law enforcement. This one involves a stolen bicycle, which is only made worse by calling the police, who are more interested in paperwork and deporting illegal immigrants than serving in the capacity for which they were called.

The cinematic-technical hook is that it's shot in one take, with the circular camera tracking reinforcing the circular issues here over a bike, migration and law. The only two minor flaws I found were that around the 12-and-a-half-minutes mark the camera operator appeared to have stumbled momentarily, and the symbolic ending is rather silly. I mean, does he also need an illustration of the unintended environmental harm caused by his wastefulness. Quite well done otherwise.

White Eye is a uniquely simplistic movie about a man who finds his stolen bike in the street. The story follows the 20 minutes he spent trying to claim back his property. As simple a story as is, it is written quite masterfully and made to seem almost as tense as a thriller of some sort.

A great movie worth watching.

There is a full 2 hour movie wrapped up in this 29 minute short. Hindsight is always better that dealing with the present. Why did Omer push the envelope so far. If Yunis knew his visa status why did he push? The factor boss KNEW Yunis' situation because all the other worker were illegal immigrants as well (why were they hiding in the freezer and then when the coast is clear - the clear out of the scene?). Why destroy the bicycle afterwards? A very good film that cries to be watched at least one more time and probably several times after that. I never figured out the recurrence of the prostitute either.

Nothing is ever black and white. I don't know if non-Israelis will get this movie. There are nuances here that some might miss.

Even so, well worth watching.