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Ha Hesder - Time of Favor

Synopsis: Is today's fanaticism tomorrow's policy? In a West Bank settlement, Rabbi Meltzer has a grand design: he's building a movement "to pray at the Temple Mount." His yeshiva has scholars, and the settlement is getting its own military company to be commanded by Menachem, a disciple of the rabbi. He also wants his daughter, Michal, to marry Pini, the yeshiva's best scholar. Michal has no interest in Pini, but she is attracted to Menachem. When she rebuffs Pini, he hatches a bold and secret plan. Is jealousy the motivation or something else? Meanwhile, the army and Moussad are closely watching the rabbi's activities and Menachem's military training. Who is trustworthy?

* Plot Keywords: Terrorism

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Comments:

The real star of 'Time of Favor' is cinematographer Ofer Inov. About half the movie takes place at night & the actors appear bathed in an almost bluish tint, with glowing eyes. It's a superb effect.

I can see why this movie swept the Israeli version of the Oscars for films released in 2000. It's a well-told, gripping saga of a confrontation between the religious and secular forces that push for ascendancy in Israel. Contrary to what we may think back here in the States, there's a healthy skepticism and mistrust in many parts of Israeli society of the ultra-religious, especially when mixed into national institutions like the Army.

Throw in West Bank settlement politics, a messianic rabbi, his flowering daughter, an unbalanced star Torah student, a studly company commander, the Mossad, a star-crossed love triangle...and you've got yourself a very compelling movie.
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Director/writer Joseph Cedar has crafted a fast paced, riveting thriller around the current themes of ethnic and religious tension in Israel; throw in a love triangle, and you have a nifty, highly entertaining film.

The cast is attractive and the acting excellent, among them Tinkerbell, who plays the love interest, and Idan Alterman (a television comic in Israel) as the rabbi's favorite student Pini, and Abraham Celektar and Amnon Volf as the soldiers Itamar and Mookie, but the two who are most memorable are Aki Avni, who is fabulous as the main hero Menachem (and is a major hunk as well), and Assi Dayan as Rabbi Meltzer.

Dayan gained fame in 1968, when John Huston chose the handsome actor to co-star in "A Walk with Love and Death" (he was known as Assaf Dayan then) and also for his heritage, as his father was the famous general with an eye-patch, Moshe Dayan. Dayan is a multi-talented man, and is brilliant here, as he teaches his students that "whoever does not know that sometimes a dead lion is more alive than the living dog will stay a dog".

The plot of this film concerning the Temple Mount has been around for ages of course, and was one of the central teachings of Meir Kahane (who was gunned down on a NYC street by an Egyptian in 1990), and he had a surprising amount of support, and not just from "the crazies".
Because of its theme, this film will also appeal to people who have an interest in the "end times" and apocalyptic Bible prophesy, and it is refreshingly free of nudity and bedroom scenes.
The script for this award winning film is above average, the cinematography by Ofer Inov very effective, and the score by Jonathan Bar-Giora terrific; the final piece that plays with the credits is fantastic...those in the habit stopping before the credits run, should not miss this song.
This is a film that gets better with repeated viewings, and total time is 102 minutes.
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I liked this movie. Well done but I was at first a little put off by the anti-Israeli comments and thoughts. (I hate this land or something similar spewed out by the love interest.) I do understand that many Jews are really anti-Israel. It is a mess. With all the arab killing of Jews you have to wonder why the subject was radical Jews. I know it is a valid subject, it just seems a way to slam Israel politically. Political agenda maybe??

Worth the watch for some interesting insights.

Product Details

* Actors: Aki Avni, Tinkerbell, Idan Alterman, Assi Dayan, Abraham Celektar, See more
* Directors: Joseph Cedar
* Format: Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
* Language: Hebrew
* Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
* Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
* Number of discs: 1
* Rating NR
* Studio: Kino Video
* DVD Release Date: September 10, 2002
* Run Time: 101 minutes
* Average Customer Review: based on 18 reviews. (Write a review.)
* From IMDb: Quotes & Trivia
* ASIN: B0000694XO
* Rank: #41,202 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)