The Best Israel Movies
The best of the best Israeli movies and movies about Israel, chosen by University of Illinois students! List managed by Illini Public Affairs Committee (IlliniPAC). #IlliniLoveIsrael
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- DirectorAlan GibsonStarsIngrid BergmanNed BeattyFranklin CoverThe story of the Russian-born, Wisconsin-raised woman who rose to become Israel's prime minister in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
- DirectorTalya LavieStarsDana IvgyNelly TagarShani KleinA unit of female Israeli soldiers at a remote desert base bide their time as they count down the minutes until they can return to civilian life.
- DirectorAyelet MenahemiStarsMili AvitalBaoQi ChenAlon AboutboulAt thirty-seven, Miri is a twice-widowed, El Al flight attendant. Her well-regulated existence is suddenly turned upside down by an abandoned Chinese boy whose migrant-worker mother has been summarily deported from Israel. The film is a touching comic-drama in which two human beings -- as different from each other as Tel Aviv is from Beijing -- accompany each other on a remarkable journey, one that takes them both back to a meaningful life.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsPaul NewmanEva Marie SaintRalph RichardsonThe State of Israel is created in 1948, resulting in war with its Arab neighbors.
- DirectorRadu MihaileanuStarsYaël AbecassisRoschdy ZemMoshe AgazaiA Christian boy escapes to Israel from famine-stricken Ethiopia by pretending to be Jewish.
- DirectorJoseph CedarStarsShlomo Bar-AbaLior AshkenaziAliza RosenEliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are father and son as well as rival professors in Talmudic Studies. When both men learn that Eliezer will be lauded for his work, their complicated relationship reaches a new peak.
- DirectorAssi DayanStarsYisrael PoliakovGavri BanaiShaike LeviSwindler Sergio Konstanza owes money to Mr. Hasson. He escapes to the desert where he joins a wacky Army reserve unit whose Sergeant has his eye on one of Mr. Hasson's daughters, although Mr. Hasson won't let her get married until her older sister is safely married and situated.
- DirectorJoseph CedarStarsOshri CohenItay TiranEli EltonyoThe story of a group of Israeli soldiers stationed in an outpost prior to the withdrawal of forces of 2000.
- DirectorScandar CoptiYaron ShaniStarsFouad HabashNisrin SiksikElias SabaAjami is the religiously mixed community of Muslims and Christians in Tel Aviv. These are five stories about the everyday life in Ajami.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsCharlton HestonJack HawkinsStephen BoydAfter a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
- DirectorEytan FoxStarsOhad KnollerYehuda LeviAssi CohenRomance blooms between two soldiers (Knoller, Levi) stationed in an Israeli outpost on the Lebanese border.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsEric BanaDaniel CraigMarie-Josée CrozeAfter the Black September capture and massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, five men are chosen to eliminate the people responsible for that fateful day.
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
- DirectorBazi GeteStarsRuti AsarsaiMeir DesehDebebe EshetuAn Ethiopian immigrant, sets out on a journey through his children's homes after losing his wife. Coming to know some of life's harsh new realities, he tries to survive in his own way.
- DirectorWayne KoppingBeneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front is a coming of age story that highlights five young Israeli high school graduates, who are drafted into the army to defend their country. At the age of 18, away from their houses, family, and friends these young individuals undergo a demanding journey, revealing the core of who they are and who they want to be. From the creators of the PBS-featured documentary film Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference, the film Beneath the Helmet illustrates how these young men and women are protecting not only their homes, but the shared values of peace, equality, opportunity, democracy, religious tolerance and women's rights. The lessons they learn along the way, are lessons that can be adapted, understood and appreciated by everyone.
- DirectorRama BurshteinStarsHadas YaronYiftach KleinIrit ShelegWhen the older sister of Shira, an 18-year-old Hasidic Israeli, dies suddenly in childbirth, Shira must decide if she can and should marry her widowed brother-in-law, which also generates tensions within her extended family.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsCharlton HestonYul BrynnerAnne BaxterMoses, raised as a prince of Egypt in the Pharaoh's household, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people from slavery.
- DirectorBoaz DavidsonStarsEitan SnehHana RotAvraham MorThis romantic comedy takes place in Israel during the Austerity period of the 1950s as 13-year-old Alex is about to attend his Bar Mitzvah. Alex has a typical Polish mother and father who suffer quietly in their apartment which because of the difficult economic situation they are compelled to share with a Persian tenant named Faruk who tries to fight his baldness with different creams. Alex falls in love with the new girl in his class, Mimi. Everything changes when his aunt Lola arrives in Israel from Poland to search for lost love. They were together when she lived in Poland but he vanished when Nazis conquered the country. Alex falls for his aunt and she gives him more than just maternal love. The film describes exactly the ambiance that dominated the country in 1950s Austerity Israel--the black markets, the radio broadcasts concentrating on the search for lost relatives, the music of the 1950s, the clothes and dresses and pastimes.
- DirectorShira GeffenEtgar KeretStarsSarah AdlerNikol LeidmanGera SandlerMeduzot (the Hebrew word for Jellyfish) tells the story of three very different Israeli women living in Tel Aviv whose intersecting stories weave an unlikely portrait of modern Israeli life. Batya, a catering waitress, takes in a young child apparently abandoned at a local beach. Batya is one of the servers at the wedding reception of Keren, a young bride who breaks her leg in trying to escape from a locked toilet stall, which ruins her chance at a romantic honeymoon in the Caribbean. One of the guests is Joy, a Philippine chore woman attending the event with her employer, and who doesn't speak any Hebrew (she communicates mainly in English), and who is guilt-ridden after having left her young son behind in the Philippines.
- DirectorDennis DuganStarsAdam SandlerJohn TurturroEmmanuelle ChriquiAn Israeli Special Forces Soldier fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist.
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
- DirectorBrenda ChapmanSteve HicknerSimon WellsStarsVal KilmerRalph FiennesMichelle PfeifferEgyptian Prince Moses learns of his identity as a Hebrew and his destiny to become the chosen deliverer of his people.
- DirectorAmos GitaiStarsIschac HiskiyaYitzhak HizkiyaPini MittelmanItzhak Rabin's murder ended all efforts of peace, and with him the whole left wing of Israel died. The movie shows the last of his days as prime minister, and what led to his murder.
- DirectorDror MorehStarsAmi AyalonAvraham ShalomAvi DichterA documentary featuring interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency whose activities and membership are closely held state secrets.
- DirectorOren RosenfeldStarsSuhela AlhindiJalil DabitEliyahu ShmueliRestaurateurs, musicians, politicians-everyone loves hummus. A story of faith, community, and growth is told through the lens of a dietary staple and superfood, hummus! This documentary shows how food can bring people together.
- DirectorMichael LucasYariv MozerStarsMickey GitzenNitzan HorowitzTzipi LivniWhen many people think of Israel, it is often in terms of modern war or ancient religion. But there is much more to the Jewish state than missiles and prayers. In his debut as a documentary filmmaker, adult-film entrepreneur and political columnist Michael Lucas examines a side of Israel that is too often overlooked: its thriving gay community. Undressing Israel features interviews with a diverse range of local men, including a gay member of Israel's parliament, a trainer who served openly in the army, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, and a pair of dads raising their kids. Lucas also visits Tel Aviv's vibrant nightlife scene and a same-sex wedding in this guided tour to a country that emerged as a pioneer for gay integration and equality.
- DirectorElite ZexerStarsLamis AmmarRuba BlalHitham OmariWhen their entire lives shatter, two Bedouin women struggle to change the unchangeable rules, each in her own individual way.
- DirectorDror ShaulStarsMichelle TrevesShai AviviMali LeviTwo girls from nuclear towns in Israel and Iran spill their countries most valuable secrets on Facebook while trying to prevent a nuclear crisis.
- DirectorNadav SchirmanStarsMosab Hassan YousefGonen Ben YitzhakSheikh Hassan YousefThe son of a founding leader in the Palestinian organization, Hamas, becomes a spy for the Israelis.
- DirectorEran KolirinStarsSasson GabayRonit ElkabetzSaleh BakriA band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong town.