Reel News


VOLUME 3, NUMBER 5 - OCTOBER 2005


Reel News The Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival e-Newsletter
October 2005


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In this issue...
  • Walk On Water (LaLechet Al HaMayim)
  • Go For Zucker! (Alles auf Zucker!)
  • The Great Communist Bank Robbery

  • Go For Zucker! (Alles auf Zucker!)

    The conniving wheeler-dealer Jaeckie Zucker is up to his neck in trouble -- his wife wants a divorce; the court bailiff is threatening him with jail. The only hope left for the former GDR sports reporter is his mother's inheritance. In her will, she stipulated that Jaeckie must reconcile his differences with his brother Samuel, an orthodox Jew. As Samuel and his entire clan move into Jaeckie's chaotic household, the clash of civilizations is inevitable but the two stubborn brothers have no choice. They have to get along.

    尋 找 甜 美 的 生 活 吧!一 部 非 傳 統 的 喜 劇

    Jaeckie Zucker 是 一 位 放 縱 的 車 輪 經 銷 商 , 他 現 正 面 臨 着 滿 腦 子 的 煩 惱--他 的 妻 子 想 要 離 婚;法 院 的 法 警 威 脅 他 要 進 監 獄 。 他 唯 一 的 希 望 是 動 身 前 往 前 東 德 去 繼 承 他 的 母 親 的 財 產 , 在 遺 囑 中 , 她 規 定 Jaeckie 必 須 調 解 他 與 他 的 兄 弟 Samuel 的 意 見 分 歧 。 Samuel 是 一 位 正 統 的 猶 太 教 徒 , 而 他 是 非 正 統 的 。 由 於 Samuel 與 及 他 的 整 個 家 庭 快 將 搬 進 Jaeckie 的 混 亂 家 庭 中 , 故 兩 者 的 文 化 衝 擊 是 不 可 避 免 的 , 但 這 兩 個 頑 固 而 倔 強 的 兄 弟 均 沒 有 得 選 擇 , 他 們 必 須 和 諧 共 處 。

    This film will be shown with English and Chinese subtitles.


    The Great Communist Bank Robbery

    In 1959 there was robbery at the Romanian National Bank in Bucharest. This was a peculiar occurrence since the local currency (the lei) could only be spent inside Romania, and bank robberies, along with most other kinds of crimes, were presumed not to happen in the socialist utopia. The Romanian police scoured the country and ultimately arrested six people -- all intellectuals, medium-ranking nomenklatura Party members and Jewish -- who they declared to be guilty. After confessing, the six agreed to re-enact their crime. An hour-long film was made in which they duly played themselves. There is some evidence that they thought by so doing they would be spared a death sentence but after trial, also filmed, they were shot. Alexandru Solomon's film is both a bizarre recreation of a crime of which the motive is still difficult to fathom and an astonishing evocation of a lost world of Romanian Stalinism.


    The 6th Annual Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival - November 12 - 27. Tickets go on sale starting November 1st.

    Walk On Water (LaLechet Al HaMayim)

    Eyal, a hitman for Mossad, is given the mission to track down a very old ex-Nazi officer who might be still alive. Pretending to be a tourist guide Eyal befriends the man's grandson Axel, in Israel to visit his sister. Axel wants to convince her to come back to Germany for their father's birthday party. Eyal and Axel set out on an extended tour of the country during which Axel's frank and open attitude challenges Eyal's rigid, clichéd values. To finish his mission Eyal has to go to Germany. He meets Axel once more and succeeds in being invited to the family party where secrets will be revealed.

    Read a review...
    Interesting Links

    Reel News Archives

    More About the Festival

    The Great Communist Bank Robbery - Official Website

    Walk On Water - Trailers and Clips



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