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| Sweet Mud |
In what has been an exceptionally good time for Israeli cinema,
Sweet Mud has been hailed as the most accomplished Israeli feature of the year. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and six Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Sweet Mud tells the story of a son's relationship with his emotionally fragile mother, Miri (the exquisite Ronit Yudkevitch), set against the backdrop of a 1970s kibbutz. So many subtle threads are woven into its fabric that it becomes a richly complex and rewarding picture of Israeli life, one that peels back the romantic mythology surrounding communal life on a kibbutz.
For his bar mitzvah, 12-year-old Dvir must pass a battery of tests of his manhood and worthiness as a future kibbutz leader. But this is nothing compared to the challenge presented by his single mother, who since the death of her husband has been teetering on the edge. When her much-rumoured boyfriend appears from Switzerland, things look up, but a chain of small but powerful events sends this nascent family reeling.
This deeply felt drama deserves all the acclaim accorded it in Israel and abroad. Opening Night film at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
