What a Wonderful Place
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Eyal Halfon
Uri Gavriel
Evelyne Kaplun
Avi Oria
Yossi Graber
Yoav Hait
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the dead of night somewhere along the Israeli border near the Dead Sea, ex-cop Franco rounds up a group of female illegal immigrants to be sold as hookers and domestics by his unscrupulous current employer, local gangster Boss. Among those corralled is Jana, a Ukrainian maid ultimately saved from the brothel by the birthmark on her face and a defiant attitude that rubs Boss the wrong way but has a certain allure to Franco, whose relationship with wife Ahuva, is painted as loving but tense. Jana's lost purse falls into the hands of pudgy farmer Zeltzer, who is fascinated by a photo inside the purse of Jana. Zeltzer has his own tense domestic situation salved only by a good relationship with one of his Thai workers, Vissit. Inevitably, the paths of these human chess pieces cross and cross again, illustrating the pitfalls of a changing world and the deceptive surface beauty of that wonderful place.
Director
Eyal Halfon
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Israel's official entry for the Academy Award for for Best Foreign Language Film (2005).
Recipient of a Certificate for Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting at the 2006 Brooklyn International Film Festival.
Released in Israel September 22, 2005
Shown at AFI/Los Angeles International Film Festival (Asian New Classics) November 3-13, 2005.
Shown at Brooklyn International Film Festival (Narrative Feature) June 2-11, 2006.
Shown at Seattle International Film Festival (Contemporary World Cinema) May 25-June 18, 2006.
16mm
color
Dolby Digital
Released in Israel September 22, 2005
