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48 reviews in total

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A beautiful, stunning, emotional story. Excellent and moving., 21 July 2003

Author: jasonsalz from Los Angeles, California

One of the best love stories this year; gripping, touching and warm at the same time. A light look into the difficulties and hardships faced by Israeli soldiers everyday. Inclusive of women, very honest and realistic, this story is symbolic of how many gay men and women feel, without really dealing with 'gay' issues on the surface. Great film, beautiful acting and direction.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
What was the point?, 4 January 2009

Author: darebear2001 from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I just watched Yossi & Jagger last night with my spouse. We have been watching other more worthy fare during the holidays and when we got to Yossi & Jagger I was expecting something special as foreign films often supply. I was very disappointed. There were too many characters and a contrived dramatic ending where you knew the outcome even before the final scene. There were some funny moments and some tender moments but there were also too many distractions from what should have been the heart of the movie - the romance between Yossi & Jagger. Other commenters have noted that they were only alone for brief moments in the movie and more time was spent digging a hole to dump spoiled food into than their relationship. More time was spent with desperate women on the hunt for man flesh in rather inappropriate ways. All in all, it was a let down. I was never given the opportunity to connect with any of the characters and as such I never cared what happened to them. It simply didn't matter in the end. I would recommend "Bent" or "Breakfast with Scot" or "Maurice" for those interested in the genre.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Filmmaking perfection. Stunning., 26 November 2003

Author: pyotr-3 from Washington DC

I can't recall when I have ever been so moved by a film. Everyone in the theatre sat frozen in their chairs long after the lights came on after the movie. We were all bawling or just frozen and stunned. The emotional impact of the movie was all at once stunning, horrible, beautiful, and overwhelming. Anyone should be able to relate to this film. Anyone who misses it will be missing one of life's genuine miracles.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Just Amazing, 18 January 2005

Author: Sims Kiefer from Israel

telling the truth about some people who are are forbidden from loving just because they love who they want to love and not who the society tells them to love.

i think people should really watch this film and come to an understanding that NO one can tell some one else who what why and when to love - cause it's a free right - no one is entitled to take from another person.

i was disappointed at the end, thought it would end differently felt like an enrage about what happened at the end, i think perhaps it could have had a different ending and still have the same impact.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Watch and admire, 17 May 2004
Author: Moorsoldat from Germany

This movie tells a story about people one admires for the way they live their lifes, even though you never would want to live their lifes yourself.

This is first such movie I've seen. When talking about "gay-films", I think one weakness of them is that the general audience has problems to find a character to identify with. Yossi&Jagger has more then those two of them! All characters play their roles so honestly that one has the feeling to hurt their private sphere. It is voyeuristic cinema par excellence. The cameraman did good work.

I've seen it a few months ago and I still have to think about it from time to time.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Israel's Beautiful Thing., 28 December 2003

Author: Wolfgang Schmitt (wschm1976@web.de) from Aachen, Germany

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

That a gay themed made-for-TV movie turns out to become one of Israel's biggest box office hits is stunning in itself. But what is truly stunning: The movie is universally touching and wonderful. Excellent performances by all actors, notably the two leads, a good pace and a great soundtrack. After watching it, you will wonder why more gay movies can not be as light-hearted and cute. Except for the obvious dramatic climax (no spoilers here), a film that once again shows that you don't need a drag queen to be funny, no AIDS to be dramatic and no anti-gay violence to be political. Nothing's wrong with this movie at all - except maybe that with its 65 mins running time it betrays its television origins a bit too open and it really does belong rather on a small than a big screen...

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
I have rarely been so moved by any artistic presentation, 17 October 2003

Author: Yankees9991

I am a 41 year old Jewish, gay, man from NYC. I have rarely been as profoundly moved by anything whether it has been on TV or film as I am by "Yossi and Jagger." From the opening scene until the extremely powerful ending, I was riveted. The film is barely over an hour, yet, the characters and situations have such depth. I believe it gives tremendous insight into the struggles Israelis and Gay people face to lead normal, peaceful lives.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Good, but not great, 15 October 2003
Author: Vanyel from Portland, OR

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I don't know why the one commentor felt he had to warn "homophobic viewers" about the beginning of the movie --- it's about as tame as you can get showing two people in love, and homophobic viewers aren't going to watch a love story about two gay guys anyhow.

It was a good movie, but while it may be groundbreaking for an Israeli production, it's far from a groundbreaking story, and was all too predictable. I spent much of the movie hoping that they weren't going to have the obvious ending, especially in light of their poking fun at American movies, only be disappointed when they did exactly that.

The story was also much too thin, but I can't elaborate without a spoiler...

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Love in the Lebanon, 13 July 2003

Author: stevedesu (stevedesu@yahoo.com) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

****LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD*****

"Yossi and Jagger" opens on what could be the tundra, but is only winter in Israeli-occupied Lebanon before the pull-out in 2000. The members of a commando unit have been dealing with the snow and the mud--and to make matters worse, the refrigerator has just broken and the men are having to dig a pit deep enough to bury all the rotting meat. (The refrigerators, even in this subterranean trench, all have different colour-coded Hebrew letters on them. Could they actually be keeping Kosher in those conditions?) In the midst of this bad day, Commander Yossi asks his 2nd in command (whom the company call "Jagger," after Mick Jagger we later learn) to accompany him to examine some terrain. This raises the knowing eyebrows of one of the men, but no one else seems particularly interested in what the Commander is doing.

So Yossi & Jagger make their way down a snowy embankment where they start a snow-ball fight which leads to a wrestling match which leads to the Yossi unzipping Jagger's snowsuit to reveal, well, that he's not wearing anything underneath. They talk about Jagger's upcoming release from military service and dream of vacationing together "in the Far East" at some point in the future. (The Commander is clearly in the Israeli Forces for the long haul, and he threatens to call Jagger up for plenty of "reserve duty.") It is a very romantic scene in the snow--a rabbit even comes by to watch the two lovers. (There is a funny moment "some time later" when the Commander reaches across to Jagger's snowsuit leg and feels something hard and says "Again? Already?" but it is only a transistor radio that Jagger has brought along with him. Jagger switches the radio on and lives up to his nickname by prancing around to Rita singing "Your Soul.")

But such scenes are not to last for two Israeli soldiers in love in the Lebanon, and when the two come back from their "maneuvers" it is to find a blustering Colonel accompanied by two women soldiers, one of whom he immediately has sex with in one of the camp bed quarters. (Indeed, in this film, I thought that the heterosexual relations were much more a source of problems for "morale" or "esprit de corps" than the relationship between Yossi and Jagger, which is kept at all times very discrete and professional. Based on this film, one would almost have to say it might make more sense to ban women than gays from the military. Of course, the US military might just ban both if they had their 'druthers.) After his R&R the Colonel announces that there is to be an "ambush" of some Lebanese forces that night. Yossi objects, citing the full moon and how tired his entrenched men are but to no avail.

(Before the ambush is announced, there is a funny moment at dinner when Jagger stops some of his men from talking about "Tel Aviv fairies." "What if I were to tell you I was gay?" he asks his disbelieving men. One of them chuckles and says, "Well, actually, sir, you are so pretty that we'd probably all want to sleep with you."

Somehow I can't imagine that banter taking place in a US Army mess.)

Getting ready to head out, Commander Yossi has the men call themselves out by number, from one to twelve. He gets them ready for their mission by cautioning them to be careful. "I don't want to have to meet any of your mothers. At least not for a few more years--at your weddings--if you bother to invite me." The scene was acted as well as many a St. Crispin's Day speech.

At first it seems that all will go well. The ambush never has to come off, so the night passes quietly. A half-hour before sunrise, the Commander orders Jagger to get everyone ready to return to base, but suddenly there are explosions everywhere. It turns out that the unit had unwittingly been perched on top of some mines or munitions of some kind. All sorts of pandemonium breaks out and coded radio messages are barked into receivers: "There are 'flowers.' Send us a 'thistle.' I repeat, We have 'flowers.'" Apparently in Israeli military code, "flowers" are casualties; a "thistle" is a helicopter.

Before the "thistle" can arrive, Yossi finds the fatally wounded Jagger. In spite of his men looking on, Yossi declares his love for Jagger (something Jagger was mad at him before for never saying) and kisses him full on the mouth. Jagger dies saying that "This is not an American movie." (a reference to something they had talk about as they rolled in the snow)

So in the end, Yossi has to visit Jagger's mother.

Now, I neglected to mention that there was one female soldier who had rather a crush on Jagger and who was trying to make her feelings known to him on that fateful day. (This was causing problems with Jagger's roommate, who knew about Yossi & Jagger and who was also in love with this female soldier.) The female soldier arrives with Yossi and presents herself to Jagger's mother practically as Jagger's girlfriend. "So much I didn't know about my son. He never mentioned a girlfriend." Yossi is perturbed by this but can, of course, say nothing. But he is able to get the last word when the subject turns to music. "I don't even know what his favourite song was," Jagger's mother laments. Of course "the girlfriend" doesn't know either. But Yossi does. "It was 'Your Soul'. . .by Rita" the Commander announces to a clearly surprised group of mourners.

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1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Average. Wait for the DVD., 28 September 2003

Author: embaixador from New York City

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

**SPOILERS!!!!** The film was good. Definitely not great. I'm not sure why Ohad Knoller (Yossi) won a Best Actor award at the Tribeca Film Festival because he acted surprisingly blase during the film's climactic end. I mean, I know his character wasn't supposed to be overly emotional, but come on. His lover dies in his arms, right after they had a fight, and he doesn't seem that upset. Then, at Jagger's funeral, he keeps smirking and giggling...

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