Hole in the Moon

Hole in the Moon
Film poster
חור בלבנה
Directed byUri Zohar
Written byAmos Kenan
Produced byMordecai Navon
StarringArik Lavie
Shaike Ophir
Avraham Heffner
Christiane Dancourt
Uri Zohar
CinematographyDavid Gurfinkel
Edited byAnna Gurit
Music byMichel Colombier
Production
company
Release date
  • 1964 (1964)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryIsrael
LanguageHebrew
Budget$100,000[1]

Hole in the Moon (Hebrew: חור בלבנה; Hor B'Levana) is a 1964 Israeli avant-garde-satiric movie directed by Uri Zohar.[2] It was the first film to emerge from the New Sensitivity movement in Israeli cinema.[3]

The film comprises two parts and employs the movie within a movie structure.[3] The title of the film derives from a famous Hebrew song (that itself is based on a Czech folk melody) and also pays tribute to Georges Méliès's film A Trip to the Moon (1902).[3] It was Zohar's final political film and since its release has garnered the status of Israeli cinema classic.[3]

Plot summary

Part one

Two new Jewish migrants to Israel embark on an adventure following their Aliyah.[3] The pair are from distinct parts of the Jewish Diaspora, one is Ashkenazi and from Europe, the other is Mizrahi from the Middle East. They are dispatched to start new lives in the Negev desert.[3] They decide to create an imaginary cinematic city in the desert, fusing characters and genre from classical movies from the United States.[3]

Part two

Following the demolition of the cardboard-constructed cinematic city, a local functionary encourages them to reconstruct the city in concrete and rooted in Zionist ideals.[3]

Cast

Production

The film was heavily influenced by the French New Wave, particularly the films of Jean-Luc Godard. It was a response to the Zionist dramas of the 1950s, and satirizes the form by showing the production of one of these films.[3] Hole in the Moon is an avant-garde film, incorporating elements of metacinema and direct commentary on narrative cinema itself.

The sculptor Igael Tumarkin was hired to design the set, with French composer Michel Colombier contributing the score.[3]

The film includes scenes filmed at Café Kassit in Tel Aviv, where young women audition for a film role.[3] The film also includes documentary footage.[3]

Release

The film received its world premiere in Tel Aviv in 1965.[4] It was later screened at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival as part of International Critics' Week.[5]

Reception

Since the film's release it has attained the status of Israeli cinema classic.[3]

In 2013, Ariel Schweitzer wrote in Haaretz that the film "sent shock waves through the local cinema scene."[3]

References

  1. ^ Shohat, Ella (1989). Israel Cinema: East/West and the Politics of Representation. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. pp. 185–197. ISBN 0-292-73847-1.
  2. ^ רפאל בשן, מונולוג של אורי זוהר - בהחלט, יש לי אימת ציבור!, מעריב, 20 בנובמבר 1964
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Schewitzer, Ariel (1 November 2013). Hedonist to Haredi: Iconic Israeli Filmmaker's Works Still Project Truth Haaretz. Retrieved on 10 January 2026.
  4. ^ Premiere of the Film Hole in the Moon in Tel Aviv Jerusalem Cinematheque. Retrieved on 10 January 2026.
  5. ^ "4e Selecion de la Semaine de la Critique – 1965". archives.semainedelacritique.com. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hor_B%27Levana