Blaumilch Canal (international release title: The Big Dig) is a 1969 Israeli comedy

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

written and directed by

Ephraim Kishon Ephraim Kishon (; August 23, 1924 – January 29, 2005) was a Hungarian-born Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and Academy Award, Oscar-nominated film director. He was one of the most widely read contemporary satire, satirists in Israel a ...

, depicting the madness of bureaucracy through a municipality's reaction to the actions of a lunatic. The film is based on a humorous story titled "A Legend About a Canal in Tel Aviv" by Kishon, first published in 1952 and later included in the book ''A Thousand and One Kids''. The film achieved commercial success and critical acclaim, winning the Best Foreign Film award at the Barcelona Film Festival and the Jury Prize at the Monte Carlo Film Festival, and was also nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

History

To film ''Blaumilch Canal'',

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 ...

’s

Allenby Street Allenby Street () is a major street in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was named in honor of Field Marshal Viscount Allenby. Allenby Street stretches from the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest to HaAliya Street in the southeast. It was first paved with ...

and a long canal were reconstructed in Herzliya Studios. Paul Smith was the uncredited assistant director. The cast included some of the most prominent Israeli actors of the time in addition to hundreds of extras.

Plot summary

Blaumilch is a lunatic with a digging compulsion who escapes from an

insane asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

by hiding in the back of a truck that delivers milk to the institution. Stealing a

jackhammer A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William McReavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady Ki ...

and compressor, he proceeds to dig up one of

's busiest traffic arteries, at the junctions of Allenby, Ben Yehuda and Pinsker Streets, in front of the iconic Mugrabi Cinema.Mugrabi Cinema (קולנוע מוגרבי), Hebrew Wikipedia Rather than question his actions, the police and city officials assume he is operating under the municipality's orders, and aid him as much as they can. Complaints from local residents, whose lives become a living hell due to the noise and traffic jams, lead to infighting amongst city departments. To speed up the work, so that it can be completed before the upcoming municipal elections, the city sends armies of construction workers and heavy equipment to help the lone jackhammer operator, turning a mere annoyance into a full-blown disaster. Hauled before a police commissioner to explain why they attempted to sabotage municipal construction equipment, the residents give a vocal rendition of the noises they are subjected to daily until the commissioner himself yells for quiet. When city officials realize they are destroying a street without any plans or goals in sight, it is too late: Allenby Street is connected with the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and a canal is created. In a flamboyant opening ceremony, the mayor then declares that Tel Aviv has been turned into the

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

of the Middle East. In an ironic twist Ziegler, a low-level municipal administrator, is the only one to realize that the 'project' was the work of a lunatic; he is laughed at and himself branded a lunatic. In the final scene, Blaumilch is seen digging up Kings of Israel Square (today Rabin Square), which fronts the Tel Aviv Municipality building.

References

External links

*
The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv: stage adaptation of Blaumilch Canal
{{Ephraim Kishon 1969 films 1969 comedy films Israeli comedy films Israeli satirical films Films directed by Ephraim Kishon Films about mental health Films set in Tel Aviv 1960s Hebrew-language films