This movie will leave most Israelis depressed. It follows the journey of two Israeli losers who can't catch a decent break. It is hard to laugh at their misfortune, since anyone who lives in Israel is surrounded with millions of these people. Why pay money to see misfortune and suffering? Just look out your window or take the bus to town. And if you are a non-Israeli, the humor in this movie (if any) is in the snappy dialog which does not translate well in the subtitles.
Another central theme of the movie, the Holocaust, does not cheer the movie up any either. This theme, which has been rehashed in a Zillion other films, is milked for all the shmaltz it can muster. For example, why would a child of Holocaust survivors have flashbacks of concentration camp train rides and arrests. This does not ring true to me at all (and I am a son of Holocaust survivors).
This might be a good movie to show in Israel on Holocaust Memorial Day as it would leave a somber and depressing effect on its viewers. But as entertainment? Forget it, this movie offers none.
Another central theme of the movie, the Holocaust, does not cheer the movie up any either. This theme, which has been rehashed in a Zillion other films, is milked for all the shmaltz it can muster. For example, why would a child of Holocaust survivors have flashbacks of concentration camp train rides and arrests. This does not ring true to me at all (and I am a son of Holocaust survivors).
This might be a good movie to show in Israel on Holocaust Memorial Day as it would leave a somber and depressing effect on its viewers. But as entertainment? Forget it, this movie offers none.