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No Names on the Doors
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Wikipedia article
'No Names on the Doors' is a 1997 Israeli drama directed by Nadav Levitan. The film was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Montpellier Film Festival, the Shanghai International Film Festival, and the Melbourne International Film Festival. It received two nominations for an Ophir Award in the categories of Best Actor and Best Screenplay.
'No Names on the Doors' is the third film in director Levitan's trilogy about Israeli kibbutzim, following 'An Intimate Story' (1981) and 'Stalin's Disciples' (1986).
Plot
The film is set on a modern kibbutz as the spectre of an Arab invasion lurks in the background and financial pressures are breaking down traditional communal values. A series of fragile, interwoven stories mirror this disintegration of collective ideals: a longstanding friendship between two 40-year-old bachelors (Danni Bassan and Meir Swissa) ends tragically when one decides to get married; a bereaved father is embarrassed to find himself attracted to his dead son's girlfriend (Dorit Lev-Ari); and a mother (Chava Alberstein) perpetuates the memory of her dead son by tending to his room as a memorial. At the same time, an elderly man (Mosko Alkalai) discovers a new, more loving relationship with his intellectually-disabled adult son (Avi Pnini).
Cast
*Chava Alberstein as Adina
*Mosko Alkalai as Kuba
*Assi Dayan as Uzi
*Avi Pnini as Israel
*Micha Selekter as Amos
*Dorit Lev-Ari as Aya
*Danni Bassan as Mordi
*Dan Wolman as Joseph
*Abraham Sandberg as GP
*Louise Zarchi as Shoshana
*Hekena Wallport as Suskia
*Shlomo Tarshish as Ely
*Meir Swissa as Simcha
Reception
Deborah Young of 'Variety' wrote that Levitan's third film in his kibbutz trilogy "brings the action to the present day to show the sad dissolution of collective ideals that were these agricultural co-ops' 'raison d'etre'. Though not exceptionally original, the fragile, interwoven stories have a sincere, heartfelt quality that should play well in specialized film weeks and venues." Kevin Thomas of the 'Los Angeles Times' called the movie "tender" and "moving".
References
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