Hearat Shulayim (2011)

Eliezer 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.

Director:

Joseph Cedar

Writer:

Joseph Cedar

Stars:

Shlomo Bar-Aba, Lior Ashkenazi, Aliza Rosen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shlomo Bar-Aba	...	Eliezer Shkolnik (as Shlomo Bar Aba)
Lior Ashkenazi	...	Uriel Shkolnik
Aliza Rosen	...	Yehudit (as Alisa Rosen)
Alma Zack	...	Dikla Shkolnik
Micah Lewensohn	...	Grossman
Nevo Kimchi	...	Fingeroot
Yuval Scharf	...	Noa
Daniel Markovich	...	Josh
Tsipi Gal	...	Mystery Woman
Michael Koresh	...	Yona Solomon, Committee Member
Idit Teperson	...	Sara Foddor, Committee Member
Shmuel Shiloh	...	Herman, Committee Member (as Shmulik Shilo)
Albert Iluz	...	Dvir Oded, Committee Member (as Albert Illouz)
Gad Kaynar	...	Committee Member
Jackey Levi	...	TV Host (as Jacky Levy)

Storyline

The story of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The son has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while his father is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition. The Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, is the jewel that brings these two to a final, bitter confrontation.

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Plot Keywords:

rivalry | university | prize | talmud | judaism | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, brief nudity, language and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [us]

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew

Release Date:

25 May 2011 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Footnote

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$47,528 (USA) (9 March 2012)

Gross:

$2,007,451 (USA) (6 July 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Movie Plus, United King Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Israel's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards 2012.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Project X (2012)

User Reviews

An amusing fable about an unamusing man

The fictitious hero is a old man who takes himself and his work completely seriously-- to the exaggerated extent that we expect to find only in a fable. The screen displays to the audience a number of arch textual explanations about him and his son, and the audience chuckles at his eccentric single-mindedness. But a sort of tension appears as the characters' behavior slips outside the limits of the explanations. Is the old man cheating on his wife? What's behind his grandson's oblomovism? Eventually the movie focuses on an unknown that is stretched almost to the point of paradox: Is the quality of the old man's work in academe really unsurpassed, or is it really unsatisfactory? The movie does turn out to be a fable, and a fable worth taking seriously. It attracted an all-star cast, and Shlomo Bar-Abba, in the lead, continues the tradition of comedians who, when they undertake a dramatic role, gain additional impact from the contrast with their familiar persona. The movie received the 2011 screenplay award at Cannes.