''Metallic Blues'' () is a 2004

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by Israeli director Danny Verete.

Plot

The film (often categorized as a

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

, but the comedic elements are limited) concerns two Israeli car salesmen who initially think the world is their oyster after a rare 1985 Lincoln Continental limousine – curiously with

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

license plates (perhaps a nod to the largely Québécois production crew, although real plates in Quebec are actually only available in the rear of a car, not the front like in the film) – falls into their laps at their used-car dealership 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 reviewing a publication by the corporate German dealership Auto Decker in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, they are led to believe that the car could net them as much as €50,000 and sail with the vehicle to Germany in order to sell it. While learning that the task may not be as easy as hoped, they are also confronted with a number of emotional episodes. Shmuel (portrayed by

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 ...

) is an

Ashkenazi Jew Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

, whose parents were

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors, and is surprised to find how affected he is by the voyage. His companion Siso (played by

Moshe Ivgy Moshe Ivgy (; born 29 November 1953) is an Israeli actor and director. Biography Moshe Ivgy was born in Casablanca, Morocco, to a Moroccan Jewish family. He was married to actress Irit Sheleg. Their daughter Dana Ivgy is also an actress. Afte ...

) is a Mizrahi Jew of modest means who, unlike his companion, has no working knowledge of English (spoken routinely by Shmuel to the various German characters they encounter), and is therefore often overwhelmed and confused during their experience. To Siso, Shmuel's history is largely unknown, and a tragic curiosity. The dialogue between Siso and Shmuel is in Hebrew, but due to the circumstances, much of the film is also in English and German.

Acclaim

''Metallic Blues'' received much acclaim in its native Israel upon its release, being nominated at the Israeli Academy Awards for best picture, best actor, best supporting actor, and best screenplay and editing. Ivgy ultimately won as best supporting actor for his performance as the bewildered and apprehensive Siso. The film also garnered the award for best screenplay at the

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

. Moreover, ''Metallic Blues'' opened the Israeli Film Festival of Paris, and was screened at the respective international film festivals of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. The film was Israel's second top domestic box office hit in 2005, with approximately 50,000 viewers.

External links

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Official Site
2004 films Israeli comedy-drama films 2000s German-language films Hebrew-language films 2004 comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films German comedy-drama films Canadian comedy-drama films 2000s Canadian films 2000s German films English-language comedy-drama films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub