For reasons that are [thankfully] never really explained, Alex (Pio Marmaï) has decided that he will quit drug dealing and start his life anew. When his cousin (David Geselson) announces that he will soon be opening a new restaurant in Tel Aviv, Alex sees the perfect opportunity to break free of his checkered past in France and start over with a clean slate in Israel. First Alex must raise enough money by dealing cocaine to buy into the restaurant as a partner, then he must make aliyah in order to legally immigrate as a Diaspora Jew to Israel.
- 10/16/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
The Holy Land is Dope; Wajeman’s Effective Family Drama is Surprisingly Subtle
Titled with a Hebrew term for Jewish immigration to Israel from the diaspora, Aliyah traces the uninspiring procedure for an assisted return to the Holy Land, as Alex (Pio Marmaï) prepares to join his restaurateur cousin (David Geselson) in Tel Aviv and leave behind his oppressive lot in Paris. Co-written alongside Gaëlle Macé, Elie Wajeman’s directorial debut is an intimate and unhurried wandering through the circumstantial pressures that have cornered a 27-year-old low-grade drug dealer.
The nature of conversation surrounding his plans requires that Alex confess to not already “knowing Israel”, as he only visited once as a child. It is repeatedly assumed that he is familiar with the land, language and even the holidays, erecting a strict framework for Jewish identity that is uniquely transcended. Alex is nonreligious and entirely aware of the devastating political turmoil,...
Titled with a Hebrew term for Jewish immigration to Israel from the diaspora, Aliyah traces the uninspiring procedure for an assisted return to the Holy Land, as Alex (Pio Marmaï) prepares to join his restaurateur cousin (David Geselson) in Tel Aviv and leave behind his oppressive lot in Paris. Co-written alongside Gaëlle Macé, Elie Wajeman’s directorial debut is an intimate and unhurried wandering through the circumstantial pressures that have cornered a 27-year-old low-grade drug dealer.
The nature of conversation surrounding his plans requires that Alex confess to not already “knowing Israel”, as he only visited once as a child. It is repeatedly assumed that he is familiar with the land, language and even the holidays, erecting a strict framework for Jewish identity that is uniquely transcended. Alex is nonreligious and entirely aware of the devastating political turmoil,...
- 6/21/2013
- by Caitlin Coder
- IONCINEMA.com
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