Israeli cinema and its cultural significance

¶ … cinematic image of the Sabra beginning with the early Zionist films, through the national-heroic mode, and ending with the critical attitude of the late 1970s and 1980s

The 1955 film Hill 24 Doesn't Answer is one of the first products of Israeli cinema. It is meant to be a stirring portrait of the new Jewish state. It dramatizes the then-recent war of independence. The film shows the war bringing together Jews of disparate backgrounds, all united by the need to defend Israel. "In Israeli culture, the figure of the Sabra" during the time period when Hill was made was considered a kind of ideal national type, exemplifying the new Jewish attitude that was free from fear and persecution (Avisar 132). The national ideal of a state that could triumph against all odds and was strong, both spiritually and militarily, is conveyed by the film through the physical strength and determination of the soldiers.

In one scene, one of the soldiers confronts a Nazi who uses the fact that he is a prisoner of war as his defense, and hides behind the words that 'he was just following orders.' He begs for forgiveness in an attempt to preserve his life. The silent Israeli soldier shows tremendous strength and power in the scene over the man, embodying how the new Israel can never be beholden to anti-Semites again. The group of soldiers fighting for Israel is remarkable for its diversity, and collectively they symbolize the multinational unity of the new Jewish state.

Hill 24 Doesn't Answer, although sensitively directed, is fundamentally a heroic war film. However, as Israel grew more established as a nation, its cinematic culture began to move beyond the purely patriotic and adopt a slightly more critical lens. For example, the 'cult classic' Israeli film Charlie Ve'hetzi (1974) takes a far more deflationary view of Israel. It portrays the central character Charlie as a ne'er do-well but likeable con man who plays three-card Monte to make a living. Virtually every other word out of Charlie's mouth is a lie, as he tries to pass himself off as rich and successful. He is a bad influence on a young boy who admires him and hangs out with Charlie instead of going to school. The film itself is not surprising in the sense that it features an antihero (many films of the era did, not just Israeli films) but the fact that the comedy is clearly directed at an Israeli audience, about Israelis is a clear step forward in Israel's national cinematic maturity. Hill 24 Doesn't Answer, is, in contrast, clearly is intended as a message to the world, proclaiming the new values and strength of the Jewish state. But merely because Charlie is a resident of Israel and a Sabra does not make him above the morality of the other nationalities that appear in the film, such as the wealthy American businessman his beloved Gila's parents want her to wed.

In the contemporary era, Israeli cinema has shown a far more intensely self-critical eye upon the military strength that was once its nation's proudest accomplishment. Eyal, the hero of Walking on Water, is a Sabra who is capable of killing in a silent and deadly fashion, thanks to his Mossad training. However, he is also depressed -- his wife has committed suicide, and it is later revealed in the film that he is thinking of giving up his job as a secret agent because he feels as if he is a killing machine that can give no life to others. The politics of the past are clearly shown to affect Israel's present, as Eyal's relatives were killed by the Nazis when he was growing up, a fact which is used by his superior to goad him into assassinating an ex-Nazi as revenge.

But rather than asking whether Israel can defend itself (for in the film there is no question that it can), Walking on Water asks the question if it this type of destruction is truly beneficial for the contemporary residents of the land. Israel's sense of cultural identity -- its common 'rootedness,' and sense of collective unity, myths, traditions and distinctiveness is no longer in question and in need of being established in a heroic format alone, and instead can be questioned as well as affirmed (Smith 195).

Q2. Discuss the changes in the cinematic depiction of Holocaust survivors and collective memory, beginning with the post-Zionist approach of the late 1970s, and ending with Israeli thrillers of the first decade of the 21st century

During the early days of the existence of the state of Israel, brooding on the past and the legacy of the Holocaust was not the focus of those who wished to establish a new, strong and bold nation. Instead, there was an emphasis upon the newly powerful state, moving into a future, free of the former threats the Jewish population had endured due to its vulnerable status in Europe. The establishment of Israel was seen as the triumph of good over evil. Gradually, this began to change in the 1970s, after Israel's sobering near-defeat during the Yom Kippur War and the wearing spiritual legacy of the Palestinian occupation (Avisar 131). A more critical analysis of the impact of the Holocaust upon the Jewish state began to take place.

The need to deal with the legacy of the Holocaust is seen in a powerful, yet life-affirming manner is manifested in the film Hill 24 Doesn't Answer, in which surviving Nazi soldiers are shown as threatening the Jewish state. The Nazis are the embodiment of evil, and when an Israeli soldier is shown killing one of them, he is clearly striking a blow for the new state of Israel as well as the populations decimated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Although World War II cannot be re-fought and the atrocities of the past cannot be erased, the establishment of the state of Israel at least has created a new Jewish people who possess military might and can deal with their enemies effectively. The presence of the Nazi indicates that there will always be people who desire to do away with the Jewish people. But now that there is a state of Israel, Jews all over the world no longer need to live in fear. Jews are proud and capable and secure in their homeland.

In Walking on Water, a new cinematic view is introduced: one which does not turn its eyes away from the profound influence of the Holocaust, but one which is not obsessed with the need to show strength at all costs. In the film, the earlier, more black-and-white view of the purpose of Israel is embodied by the boss of the Mossad agent Eyal: the older Meacham is obsessed with the Holocaust, and is determined that the agent Eyal will kill an aging Nazi. Meacham reminds Eyal that the Nazi likely killed Eyal's own relatives, decades ago. However, Eyal befriends the grandson and granddaughter of the man he is supposed to kill, and realizes that they do not espouse their grandfather's values.