Due to a misunderstanding and a moment of carelessness, 18-year-old Shlomi (Ido TAKO) is separated from his IDF unit in the Gaza Strip and promptly takes off. He is already longing for his girlfriend Shiri (Mika REISS) in Tel Aviv, who is about to leave for her year abroad in Canada. Since he is soon missed by the army, Shlomi has to hide himself more and more. This remarkable film by Dani ROSENBERG (OPHIR 2023: Nominated for Best Director) chronicles everything he experiences on a very special day in Tel Aviv. When the army finally suspects that Shlomi has been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, events come to a particularly acute conclusion.
Dani ROSENBERG's film presents a striking portrait of a very young man who is completely overwhelmed by the demands placed on him as a soldier. Essentially still a child, he is confronted with life and death, strutting across the beach and through Tel Aviv's nightlife district with his army weapon.
The young actor Ido TAKO was rightly nominated for the 2023 Israeli Film Award OPHIR for this film. Efrat BEN-ZUR, who plays Shlomi's mother, also received an OPHIR nomination. This film impressively demonstrates the impact a "heroic" society like Israel's, which is constantly at war, has on the young people who have to serve in the army.
The combination of dramatic events and slapstick elements is very unusual. Whenever the French tourist couple Shlomi met on the beach appears, it becomes bizarrely funny. At the same time, however, it is always clear how dramatically Shlomi's decision also affects the lives of other people. A striking scene when Shlomi wants to buy a drink at a convenience store demonstrates how much this has become a part of everyday life in Israel.
Impressive!
