''Alex Holeh Ahavah'' (, Alex Is Lovesick) is a 1986
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
directed by
Boaz Davidson
Boaz Davidson (, ; born 8 November 1943) is an Israeli film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and studied film in London at London Film School.
Biography
Davidson was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to ...
Sharon Hacohen
Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name.
In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, it is used as ...
1950s
File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...
, features a boy (Anshel) as the main
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
and his life as the son of Polish
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
.
Plot
The film is a romantic
comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
that takes place in Israel during the
austerity
In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
period of the 1950s. The main character is Alex, a 12-year-old boy who is about to turn 13 and attend his
bar mitzvah
A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...
.
Alex comes from a poor,
dysfunctional family
In psychology, abnormality (also dysfunctional behavior, maladaptive behavior, or deviant behavior) is a behavioral characteristic assigned to those with conditions that are regarded as dysfunctional. Behavior is considered to be abnormal when i ...
of Polish Jewish origin whose poverty requires them to share their apartment. Their tenant is Faruk, a man whose humorous battle against baldness is a running bit in the film.
At first, Alex falls in love with Mimi, the new girl in his class. Everything changes, however, when his aunt Lola arrives in Israel from Poland to search for a lost love with whom she once lived but who vanished after the
Nazi invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...
. Alex falls for his aunt and she responds by providing the soon-to-be 13-year-old with more than familial love.
The film authentically recreates the
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
of the country in the 1950s, known as the
Austerity in Israel
In economic policy, austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: hig ...
, including the
black market
A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...
, radio broadcasts concentrating on the search for lost relatives, music and pastimes of the 1950s and the
era
An era is a span of time.
Era or ERA may also refer to:
* Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time
* Calendar era
Education
* Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school
* ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia
* E ...
's clothing and dress styles.
Production and Distribution
The film's production began in the summer of 1985, initiated by Boaz Davidson after his return to Israel from Hollywood, where he had spent six years working with the Cannon Group, led by
Yoram Globus
Yoram Globus (; born 7 September 1943) is an Israeli–American film producer, cinema owner, and distributor. He has been involved in over 300 full-length motion pictures and he is most known for his association with The Cannon Group, Inc., an ...
and
Menahem Golan
Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...
. Davidson aimed to create a
nostalgic
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word meaning "homecomi ...
film inspired by his childhood days in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
. After several weeks of casting attempts, he selected Sharon Cohen for the lead role despite her young age and lack of experience (she was a 20-year-old acting student, and this was her first film). Eitan Anshel was chosen from among 20 young men who auditioned, displaying a natural and unforced acting talent. The film's producers were Yitzhak (Izzo) Shani and Yosef Diamant, with a budget of $750,000. Filming took place during August–September 1985. A pre-premiere screening with the cast was held on June 20, 1986, and the film was released two weeks later. It achieved commercial success, with about 185,000 people viewing it within a month of its release.
Cast
* as Alexander Koprobski
* as Lola
* Uri Kabiri as Fishenzon
*
Avi Kushnir
Abraham Yeshayahu Kushnir (; born 26 August 1960) is an Israeli comedian, actor and host.
Early life
During high school Kushnir studied at the youth village HaKfar HaYarok. Afterwards, during his mandatory military service, Kushnir served in an I ...
as Motke, Shuki's brother
*Jupiter Leonid as Leonid the teacher
* Avraham Mor as Alex' Dad
*Alik Pelman as Shuki
*
Shmuel Rodensky
Shmuel Rodensky (; 10 December 1902 – 18 July 1989) was a Russian-born Israeli actor whose stage, film, and television career in Israel and West Germany spanned six decades. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1924 and studied drama at the E ...
as Alex' Rabbi
* as Alex' Mom (as Hanna Roth)
*Hinna Rozovska as Alexander's Grandmother
*