Les méduses

As much as I have admired what films that Isreal has produced (at least what I have seen,so far), I figured, there's bound to be a least one clunker in the batch. I have to admit, Jellyfish (or as it is known in Isreal as Meduzot)suffers from one too many unresolved plot lines. One plot line is a young woman who finds a nameless young girl who follows her around after a day at the beach. Another is a pair of newlyweds who seem to have a rash of bad luck on their wedding day. There are at least a couple of other plot lines, that don't even attempt at any kind of cohesive whole. The acting seems to be on the mark, but I just couldn't find any kind of narrative thread to hold it all together. Hava Nagila, indeed.

NICE : As Paul Thomas Anderson with "Magnolia", Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen chose with "Meduzot" to focus on a few characters that life randomly carries from one shore to another. Everything is tainted by a depressive but amusing tone that gives a pleasant melancholia feeling to the spectator. The fact that the story happens in Tel-Aviv does't seem to affect the lightness of this unpretentious movie, that only wants to underline the loneliness every human being faces in his life and give a little touch of hope to this sad fact.

EASY : As Agnès Jaoui in "Le Goût des autres", Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen don't avoid in "Meduzot" some very easy and predictable critics, especially when it comes to give a satirical look on the artistic world of theater of the city. They also can't avoid some "Shortcuts" in the portrayal of their characters, and especially in the depiction of the angry - but at the end nice and well... just lonely - old lady. This two elements spoil a little bit the pleasure you can get to the pleasant little scenes the film offer.

This is a loosely woven story about different people who all live in the same city, and occasionally cross paths, but do not know each other. The stories of the individual characters at first seem ordinary, but there are hidden insights into their lives that are touching. An elfin from the ocean adds an unresolved aspect.

Does it matter that the protagonist barely has a roof over her head, while her publicity-seeking mother champions the cause of the homeless? Does it matter that parents and offspring misunderstand each other, or worse, are apathetic? Does it matter that the elfin with the float ring mysteriously appears and disappears. Life itself is this way, rarely neat and tidy.

To those who like a film to be obvious with its message and linear with its storyline, this film will disappoint. To others who are willing to just watch and float along, this movie will have you enjoying it long after the closing credits have rolled. Definitely a film to talk about!

The female heart is shared through four, perhaps five female roles, and a token male. I say token because, perhaps like in the lives of all women as they compete with one another yet strive mutually for acceptance, men can often be little more than an accessory. Here the hopes, pains, and disappointments of wives, mothers, daughters, and career women are shared in a very poetic and imaginative way. Wonderful cinemoatography. The use of setting is especially effective.

Not quite sure how to describe this movie other than it captures the daily frustrations of Israeli life and the mystery that can befuddle anyone in their daily life, young or old.

All movies normally have a bit of glass between the viewer and the actors/actresses. This movie seems to dissolve that. A very strange phenomenon. But you feel more connected to the people on the screen. Like they are right before you. The only exception would be those moments that seem like dream sequences, but are all too real... or rather surreal.

I started out watching this movie to pick up a little bit of hebrew and soak up some of the sights of Tel Aviv. I am happy that I did. The scenes are very accurate. I especially liked one scene involving a taxi driver, a cat and some other key details that will amuse anyone who has spent time in Israel.

I got much more from this and plan to bring this movie to my parents house for mother's day. I hope they will enjoy it as much as I did.