Life in a Tel Aviv apartment complex, an urban mosaic whose seedy characters, try as they might, can't get out of one another's faces. Gabi, a bobbed haired sexpot, and her lover Hezi—who's older, balding and married—rent a room to have an affair, while Ezra, a pot bellied divorcee, supervises an illegal construction site next door. All this racket drives Schwartz, a Holocaust survivor, to a mental breakdown. Other characters include illegal Chinese immigrants, a teenage boy who's afraid to serve in the army, and a corrupt police detective.
Direction
Gitai's roving camera that refuses to let anyone hide
Acting
Ronit Elkabetz commands every frame she enters
Production
The building itself becomes a suffocating character
Director
Amos Gitai
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gitai shot in his actual Tel Aviv neighborhood; Ronit Elkabetz was already Israel's biggest star. The apartment building was scheduled for demolition during filming.
The 'alila' of the title refers to a false accusation—specifically the Dreyfus Affair, linking personal betrayals to Jewish historical trauma. Schwartz's rant connects the dots.
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