Une grâce stupéfiante

Maybe some people may consider this a slow movie. However, it's precisely this "slow burning" that allows it to profoundly affect the viewer. Like that marvelous first scene: first, we can hear the voices; then, we are allowed to see the characters; finally, the camera slowly pans back and to the side and we see another character, a young man who is just sitting there, apparently not even listening to the conversation or, at least, not really caring. The fact that this young man will be the leading role shows the movie's strategy: allowing the character to develop and be determined by the environment surrounding him but without remarking the points more than necessary. People come and go, flow in and out of his life. Although most of the movie follows him (and most of the supporting characters are only seen when close to him, defined according to the relationship maintained with him), we are induced to believe that we are being objective, so subtle is the director touch.

ever watched. It deals so gently and subtly not only with Aids (which is only alluded) and gay life, but also with old age, dying and death. It's a deep and beautiful movie, (also visually), of a very special director. Highly recommanded1

"Amazing Grace" has a languid feel to it as it tells a contemporary story of various lives in an apartment building. The language spoken is Hebrew, but the drama could take place in any modern city. It observes family values, romantic relationships, and age group characteristics with equal aplomb. It does not judge the characters, only present them in a straight forward manner, as they strive to work out their individual problems in this modern world. The quality of acting is very good, and the observations made on the characters are astute and sharp. I appreciate this flowing film very much.

Amos Guttman was not as praised as he should have been. Most reviews here are from the onset or in 21st C. Aids was an issue in gay culture back in 1992 that was not wanted very much. The subject had of course been treated in such films as ' Longtime Companion ' and ' Parting Glances ' and the less well known, but brilliant ' Buddies ' and yet I encountered many in the gay community who were either afraid ( psychologically understandable ) or near to hostile to it being incorporated into the creative arts. This also went for the straight community as well. Amos Guttman fell into a creative oblivion with this film at the time, despite the fact that it was shown at the National Film Theatre in London. I remember ' Hessed Mufla ' getting rare showings and I went to one and I was one of a handful in the audience. I was overwhelmed by its emotional power and beauty and tried by word of mouth to get people interested. It is still one of those lost films that the gay community still needs, but as time goes by the more it will fall into oblivion. It is a beautifully made film, grave and tender and I hope one day to see this film remembered for the treasure that it still is.

This is the touching story of two families in Israel and the relationships within each family. Each family has a gay son. The stories are interrelated at that point but this film is about all of the family members, not just the two sons. The portraits of each of the family members in both families are well drawn and the story is consistently interesting if a bit bleak.