Mars Turkey (2001)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Oded Davidoff

Writers:

Limor Nachmias (book)
Limor Nachmias (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 February 2001 (Israel)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A police captain needs to balance between protecting the last remaining witness in a trial, and his rapidly disintegrating love life.

Awards:

2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Alon Abutbul	...	Reuven Shechter
Yael Hadar	...	Aya Masterichi
Gal Zaid	...	Patrick Sarusi
Dalit Kahan	...	Shuli
Tomer Sharon	...	Iftah
Tzahi Grad	...	David Shuashu
Ofira Rahamim	...	Cohen
Avi Seder	...	Kadosh
Poly Reshef	...	Zeharia
Shmulik Calderone	...	Shimon Peres
Nahman Ashkenazi	...	Attorney Nissim
Dvir Benedek	...	Barguda
Hilla Sarjon	...	Hedva
Boaz Davidoff	...	Hava Albershtein Delivaryman
Osnat Hakim	...	Shirley

Also Known As:

Clean Sweep (Israel: English title) (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:MA (cable rating)

Superb Tarantino imitation

Quentin Trashantino has spawned many imitators over the last few years, most of them more talented than he is. While his influence is most keenly felt in Japan with its long tradition of gangster films centred around the Yakuza, this very entertaining Israeli film easily matches those Japanese ones, and of course, easily tops Quentin. In fact it's easily the best of the few Israeli films that I have seen.

The film centres around a team of police trying to safeguard prosecution witnesses from a drug dealer who doesn't care for the wellbeing of witnesses, and has been steadily thinning their ranks. The police try to stay one step ahead of the drug dealer as they protect their last witness. Meanwhile Aya Mastrichi (Yael Hadar), a sexy female Dirty Harry and the most effective of the police officers, is having relationship problems with her insensitive pig of a policeman boyfriend, and the people she incidentally meets while working on the case encourage her to be more demanding of her right to an orgasm. All these different subplots are neatly and hilariously tied up in a very satisfactory manner by the end of this beautifully structured film, with our hero outsmarting everyone.

As expected from a Tarantino ripoff, the characters are all humorous, ultraviolent eccentrics, filmed with a particular emphasis on saturated colours to give it that slightly cartoonish feel. Yael Hadar in the lead female role looks very fetching, very much resembling a young Beatrice Dalle, although they have had to put the makeup on with a trowel as Hadar bears little actual resemblance.