Yossi & Jagger (2002)

Director:

Eytan Fox

Writer:

Avner Bernheimer (writer)

Release Date:

1 August 2002 (Israel)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Love should never be a secret.

Plot:

Romance blooms between two soldiers (Knoller, Levi) stationed in an Israeli outpost on the Lebanese border.

Plot Keywords:

Israeli | Army | Military | Israeli Army | Soldier

Awards:

9 wins

Cast

Ohad Knoller	...	Yossi
Yehuda Levi	...	Lior Amichai 'Jagger'
Assi Cohen	...	Ophir
Aya Steinovitz	...	Yaeli
Hani Furstenberg	...	Goldie
Sharon Raginiano	...	The Colonel
Yuval Semo	...	Psycho
Yaniv Moyal	...	Samoncha
Hanan Savyon	...	Adams
Erez Kahana	...	Yaniv the Cook
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shmulik Bernheimer	...	Shmuel 'Shmulik' Amichai
Yael Pearl	...	Varda Amichai (as Yael Perl Becker)

Also Known As:

Yossi VeJager (Israel: Hebrew title)
Yossi and Jagger (International: English title) (informal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

65 min | Israel:67 min

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Unrated | USA:R | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Germany:12 | Brazil:14

Company:

Israel Cable Programming (ICP)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the snowball fight scene, after Yossi has pinned Jagger, Jagger's jacket is open and his chest visible before Yossi has unzipped it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ahava Colombianit (2004)

Soundtrack:

Bo

A love story that simply knocks you out

I'd like to start with the fact that I hate movies about military and war. We had much too many of them and they are always hard to swallow because they always end in a catastrophe. That's why I didn't want to see "Yossi and Jagger" at first. But then I read that it's supposed to be a good movie with a tender love story; I swallowed and gave it a try. I'm glad I did this. I wouldn't go so far and call the whole movie good but it does have the most touching and beautiful love story I've seen in a long time.

I think it's no secret what the movie is about: We are in a military base in Israel and ordinary young people cope with the daily horror each in their own way. They make jokes about it, try not to be serious and look for ways to not think about it the whole day. Some do it with reading, others with music, the commander with sex for we are in a mixed camp here with two girls being in it. And then there are Yossi and Jagger – close friends in the official version, closeted lovers in reality. Yossi is Jagger's boss and both are the stars in their base for in their very own way both young men are special. Yossi is the serious and more reserved one – he doesn't speak very much, always concentrates on his job and is scared to come out. Jagger (named after Mick Jagger cause he's a bit of a rock star himself) is the more flamboyant, vivid, playful and childish one – he's romantic, he is a dreamer, he makes plans for his future with Yossi and wants a love like in a Hollywood movie. It's stunning – you wouldn't guess they're a couple because they learned to hide it very well, but when they are alone you get a hint at how much they love each other. But, alas, we're in a war movie here and no matter how strong the love between the two young men is and how hopeful they are towards their future – the ugly reality will destroy it.

You might have an idea of how the movie ends and I won't spoil it for you. Despite this fact I would really recommend this movie to everyone. Also because of the two great protagonists: Israeli TV star Yehuda Levi is terrific as Jagger and the charismatic Ohad Knoller is simply wonderful as Yossi (he was awarded for his performance). Hands down for an unusual love story that will break your heart but that you simply can't help falling in love with.