"World Cinema: Israel"

My book, "World Cinema: Israel" (originally published in 1996) is available from Amazon on "Kindle", with an in-depth chapter comparing and analyzing internationally acclaimed Israeli films up to 2010.

Want to see some of the best films of recent years? Just scroll down to "best films" to find listings of my recommendations.

amykronish@gmail.com

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Kicking Out Shoshana



Another comedy to add to the growing list of comedies produced in Israel this year --  Kicking Out Shoshana, directed by Shai Kanot, currently playing in Israeli movie houses.  Sometimes the most politically incorrect comedy can be the most entertaining.  This film, although obviously lacking in profundity, is an hysterical farce about soccer and homophobia!! 

The story is a simple one -- Ami Shushan is the hero of the Jerusalem soccer team and he lives and breathes soccer.   When Ami shows interest in the girlfriend of a local hooligan, he is punished and forced to state publicly that he is gay, and that's when his soccer fans show their true homophobic colors and rename him "Shoshana".   As a result, a new gay and lesbian world is opened for Ami, and eventually also for his fans. 
 
The film pokes fun at just about everyone and everything -- sports agents, transvestites, paparazzi, ultra-orthodox Jews, breast implants, and most of all, homophobes.  It is definitely an over-the-top politically incorrect film, yet I found myself laughing throughout.