Makom Be-Gan Eden

Because all Israeli movies must contend with low budgets, Israeli cinema tends to tell stories on a small scale. In contrast, A PLACE IN HEAVEN tries to attain a mythic scope in telling a modern story with Biblical echoes (rather like EAST OF EDEN), and surprisingly it succeeds. It can't incorporate a whole battlefront, but it manages to make one tank suffice. It uses vistas of open country to great advantage. It uses a generous roster of minor characters to suggest a richly conceived universe in which the story resonates. It shows action that spills past the edges of the screen. It has a script that unashamedly tackles big themes of generational continuity and karma, and actors who can sell the script. Madmony makes it all work without seeming affected, except maybe when he toys with turning the picture upside down.

The film was screened at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Right from the start there is a link to biblical mythology. The story-line is moving and captivating. It is intricate, and laced with traditions, the clash between the religious and non-religious people in Israel, complex family relations, soldiers in battle, as well as the place of the Russian immigrants in society.

The story is about an Israeli Captain in the army who cares for his soldiers and is admired by them. But the hero makes a big mistake … It is also a love story in which a war hero is willing to work for his loved-one's father, doing dirty work, for a whole year, to get permission to marry her. The importance of the "Kaddish" prayer traditionally said by a son, or a male member of the family, and the fact that not carrying out an old man's last request entails a punishment, gives the story a further mythological twist.

The performance of the main Character played by Alon Aboutboul was superb. In fact the whole cast gave a good performance from start to finish.