Time of Favor (2000)

Cuts To The Chase On Being An Israeli..

Since this flick came out 8 years ago, a lot has changed.
The West Bank settlers are marginalized as is the Israeli Left.
The issue then was holding onto "captured/liberated" territory depending on your definition or reducing/neutralizing an existential threat from the major Arab powers outside..seeing this movie yesterday, it is almost moot since in this post 911 scenario, Iraqi War, Lebanon War, the real politic is now on containing nuclear threat from Iran not wishful idealist thinking in regard to rebuilding the Third Temple by blowing up the Islamic Dome Of The Rock by a bunch of religious seminary students who take their zeal from a Rabbi spewing forth not hatred of the "other" but idealism that blurs the distinction between the world of the senses and a world beyond appearance.
It is in this context that the filmmaker is clever and insightful being able to portray Israel as either a haven for Jewish suffering whose goal is to be "normal" like anyone else concerned with pleasure and pain or the idealists whose vision of greater Israel as a divine birthright highlights the conflict and resolution between living in the world of experience or the world of the unknown.Israeli society is a fine example of this conflict and the filmmaker captures the tensions well between love of child or G-D, love of land or one's fellow tribesman,jealosy between friends in regard to love and basically seeing reality as reality despite the minds furnishing of it or seeing reality behind ideological blinkers that can distort or enhance again depending on perspective.
The acting is good all around, the action is fast paced catching real glimpses into Israel's religious Zionist Yeshiva world and settler mentality. The movie has nothing to do with Arab Jewish tension but is a careful snapshot of Israeli society years ago whose threat nowadays are the bombardment of it's citizens by the Gaza strip and the all too likelihood of a strike against Iran to maintain her security. June 29, 2008

Political parable . . .

I think you have to be Israeli to fully understand this film, the implications of its message, and the motives of the filmmakers. From an outsider's point of view, it seems to take a secular perspective on what amounts to religion-inspired political extremism - in this case a scheme to destroy the al-Aqsa mosque built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, then occupying the site, apparently to make way for the building of the Third Temple, thereby ushering in the end of days. That anyone might regard this as an act of terrorism far beyond the scale of the attack on the World Trade Center seems (again to an outsider) outside the film's frame of reference. That not a single Palestinian character appears in the film, though it takes place in and around a West Bank settlement, says even more about the curious absence of a realistic context. As a portrayal of conflict between religious and secular Israelis, the film seems more like a parable or allegory than a story grounded in a plausible world.

An Israeli audience will surely more fully appreciate the characters, which (to me, again, as an outsider) do not come across with much depth. The father-daughter conflict, the love-triangle, the comic relief character all seem rather formulaic on the surface. I think you need to know Tinkerbell's other performances to appreciate this one; here her character seems morose and self-absorbed and not altogether plausible as the love interest of two men. The one compelling performance was that of Pini, played by Idan Alterman, who portrays a troubled man under the influence of an apocalyptic vision. This film is surely for audiences steeped in the political realities of Israel and the perils it faces from all corners of the political spectrum. Other viewers may be less readily absorbed by its concerns. March 28, 2008

Political Agenda

I found the film very superficial. It was obvious that the director had a political statement to make. The characters were not developed because they were not real. They were simly manipulations of the far left leanings of the producer. Boring! October 6, 2007

worth the watch

I liked this movie. Well done but I was at first a little put off by the anti-Israeli comments and thoughts. (I hate this land or something similar spewed out by the love interest.) I do understand that many Jews are really anti-Israel. It is a mess. With all the arab killing of Jews you have to wonder why the subject was radical Jews. I know it is a valid subject, it just seems a way to slam Israel politically. Political agenda maybe??
Worth the watch for some interesting insights.
barb January 14, 2007

As bleak as the landscape around this Israeli settlement

This 2000 Israeli film is as fresh as today's headlines. Set in a settlement in Israel it's about a radical rabbi and his ardent followers, two best friends who compete for the rabbi's daughter, and the ongoing conflicts of orthodoxy and secularism in Israel.

The film is as bleak as the landscape around the settlement. And the rabbi's radicalism is the one thing that keeps the young men bound together. One of them is in the army and creates a religious unit much to the concern of his superiors who distrust the radicalism, even though the soldiers perform well. Another young man is the scholar and the rabbi wants him to marry his daughter. Alas, though, she prefers the soldier. Trouble follows. She leaves the settlement and goes to the city where she finds an apartment with some other religious young women.

Her rejection of her religious suitor, however, pushes him to plan to commit a radical act and he involves the soldier as well as another innocent friend in the plan. How this all plays out is scary, as we are all aware of the potential violence of terrorist attacks. This film brings this all out as well as some complex psychological factors.

The problem was that the story moved a little two slowly for my taste. Also, as it was a foreign film, I know that it lost a lot in translation. It seemed as if some parts were missing and the narrative seemed to jump round awkwardly. So, in spite of its message and the tension raised regarding what would happen next, I found myself looking at the clock and feeling bored. However, the film had an interesting theme and the acting was excellent. It also showed me the world through a unique point of view. August 4, 2005

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