Zero Motivation

Zero Motivation follows in the tradition of Catch-22 (1970) and M*A*S*H (1970) by exploring the understated banalities, vulgarities and absurdities of military life. Much like those films, we follow a congress of loosely connected characters, none of which approach their jobs with any kind of pride or relish. Instead they see their predicament as some sort of purgatory by which a better life lies just beyond their reach. Slight difference in this case, is the majority of the films denizens are Israeli women and not American men.

The story is divided into three vignettes largely following the quiet and diminutive Zohar (Ivgy) and the rebellious Daffi (Tagar). The first story involves the duo returning from furlough. On their way back to base they meet Tehila (Tobi) who Zohar mistakes for a replacement thus making her dream of transferring to reality. Tehila however is not what she seems. The second story involves Daffi's fruitless quest to loose her virginity which has disastrous consequences on her unit, including and especially Rama (Klein) her superior officer. The last story sees the unintended results of Zohar's constant schemes to leave her isolated base for a cushy position in Tel Aviv.

The rest of the ensemble includes Russian transplant Irena (Klingon) and twitty songbirds Livnat (Twito) and Liat (Gal), who fill out the rest of the unit like glitches in a computer program.Though if one were to point to a standout performance it would be Shani Klein as Rama. Between the privates and the male high commanders, Rama approaches everything with exaggerated incredulity and frustrated exhaustion. Anyone who has had to supervise a gaggle of uncaring, unmotivated underlings while being pressed by micromanaging overseers will automatically sympathize with her plight. Especially when faced with the one-woman agent of chaos that is Nelly Tagar's Daffi.

Each vignette ends in much the same way; ironically and with a darkly humorous twist where no one is a modicum happier. Even those who have never experienced Army life (or been a woman) will find a lot to love about Zero Motivation. The girls are fighting the same kind of dull lethargy many of us contend with on a daily basis. When the plot isn't grinding hopes and dreams into a fine powder, the girls occupy their time with various distractions, the most coveted of which is Daffi's Minesweeper game. It's sad, bordering on pathetic yet when something as inconsequential as a computer game is the only trinket tethering your sanity, you'd want to hold on to it too.

Darker than Stripes (1981), funnier than Catch-22 and way more concise than M*A*S*H, Zero Motivation is a fierce, fun little satire made all the more relevant coming from a country that has only known war since its inception. While it does pull its punches in the last act, leaving us with an ending that is uncharacteristically hopeful, everything leading up to it is pure gold. Check out this Israeli import if for no other reason than you'll never look at a staple gun the same way again.

A group of army administrators live their dreary days on a quiet military base.

It's hard to define this movie, it's like MASH but with administration. Or like The Office in the army. It's enjoyable, but sometimes it jumps too quickly between fun and pure darkness of time. It's a unique movie that is worth checking out if you want to avoid more mainstream titles. Just watch out, the nudity comes form nowhere, and so do some other darker surprises.

Some elements of the movie are quite unbelievable, but the movie is clever enough to approach them gradually and only after achieving buy-in from the audience. What with the delicate balance of comedy and drama, when the girls start duelling with staple guns you truly aren't sure whether somebody's going to get terribly hurt or not. I've never been a fan of Dana Ivgy, sullen and sulky as she always looks, but the role here fits her; and it's a nice script, divided into ostensibly separate chapters but surprising the audience with links between them and not ending before even the shrewish valkyrie of a desk officer has been vouchsafed a moment of sympathy from the audience. If Nat Hiken were alive, I think he and his creation Sergeant Bilko would approve.

The Israel Defense Forces have a certain reputation both inside of Israel and outside of it. With certain exemptions, nearly every Israeli must do a mandatory two year minimum of training and the IDF is considered one of the best armies in the world. In Zero Motivation writer-director Talya Lavie quickly dispels with any romantic or political notions of what serving in the army is like and focuses her attentions on a group of teens serving out their time in a podunk base in the middle of the desert where her heroines are assigned the most menial and redundant administrative tasks.

The movie focuses on two best friends; Zohar (played by Israeli star Dava Ivgy) who has an attitude problem and a chip on her shoulder, and Daffi (Nelly Tagar) a childish brat who dreams of finishing out her duty in Tel Aviv where she can go shopping and play on the beach in her downtime. Instead the two friends make life miserable for everyone around them, focusing their attentions on hitting record highs in minesweeper instead of completing the simple office busy work they're supposed to be doing.

The film is organized in a triptych so that each half hour is its own individual section and tells one specific story but the stories build and feed in to each other. Also despite some dark story lines which include a suicide and an attempted rape the movie is absolutely hilarious. It always keeps the heroines at the forefront of the action and their callous attitudes and general unpleasantness towards their colleagues, and eventually each other, keeps things interesting and life.

A great watch.

This is a lovely coming-of-age movie about very young women coping with their impossibly dull military service in the Israeli army. The film is very funny with a lot of attention to detail (the officers routinely meet in front of a map marked "Palestine"). The sound track is simple but beautifully put into the context of the movie. The camera work is very low key, and very reminiscent of early Israeli movies in its style. Its not a political movie but it does give a genuine insight into how many young Israeli women experience their military service. As a footnote I will say that I saw it in Tel Aviv, the theatre was packed and as the movie started there was a siren and the whole audience had to shuffle into the exit tunnels. After a few minutes (and having heard the explosion of a missile being intercepted nearby), we went back to our seats and the movie restarted.