Youth (2013) User Reviews

A guide on how NOT to kidnap somebody...

[KnatLouie · 7/10 · 20 April 2013]

This story is about two brothers, Shaul and Yaki (played by the real-life brothers Eitan and David Cunio), who are in need of some extra cash to help their father Moti (Moshe Ivgy), and therefore decide to kidnap a local girl, whose parents allegedly should be rich enough to pay them a handsome ransom.

One of the brothers has recently joined the Israeli army, so they have to commence this entire kidnapping-ordeal before he's permanently enlisted, and can't help anymore. They won't waste any more time, so they hurry up and abduct their pretty acquaintance Dafna (Gita Amely), and throw her down their cellar. After that, they try to contact her parents, but everything just goes wrong, and it quickly becomes clear that the two boys have no clue about what they're doing.

It is definitely a good guide for would-be kidnappers, so they know exactly what NOT to do. Even so, the two boys are a couple of charming fellows, despite of their somewhat odd appearances and brute behaviour.

I saw this film at the Copenhagen Filmfestival (CPH PIX), and I didn't have any expectations going in, so I was pleasantly surprised to find an amusing, but quite serious and uncomfortable story, which entertained the whole way throughout.

Kidnapping for idiots 101

[ExploringFilm · 7/10 · 13 October 2013]

I saw this in a film festival recently, and for a directorial debut thought it was a good thriller with assertive direction and a tense plot.

However - you cannot help but be annoyed and marvelled at all times by the sheer stupidity shown by the two protagonists; it is realistic at times and at other times not. A certain and highly implausible scene on a bus early in the film nearly ruined that sense of realism for me, but otherwise the movie kept everything pretty real in the sense that the two brothers are merely amateurs and hadn't planned things properly. Performances are good, but due to the nature of the story it is difficult to have any empathy with the characters, and you cant but help to chuckle and be relieved over their shortcomings.

There is some sense of social critique under it all, but (un)fortunately this is never delved too much into in order to fully justify their actions; the director has been less interested in motivations and character background, more interested in minute details of the crime and the act of kidnapping someone, leaving us pondering over the why's until the very end.

Two Sabras, dim but dangerous

[euroGary · 7/10 · 6 November 2013]

'Youth' is an Israeli film about two criminally-minded brothers. Discovering their parents are in danger of losing their home because of financial troubles, the pair - one of whom has just been enlisted in the Israel Defence Forces - kidnap a local schoolgirl with the intention of ransoming her back to her family. But as the brothers aren't overly blessed with brains, they stage the kidnapping on a Friday - and the girl's Jewish family are observant, which means they won't be answering the telephone (and thus receiving the ransom demand) until after sundown on Saturday (when I lived in Israel I was forever getting caught out by the Sabbath, so it's nice to see two Sabras have the same problem!)

If this sounds a bit slapstick, it isn't: there's a real sense of menace hanging over this film, from the creepy opening sequence where one of the brothers follows the girl home from school, through the kidnapping sequence itself - one can really appreciate how terrified the girl must be - to the realisation the brothers are amateurs with short fuses so there's a chance the girl may not make it home safely to her family. The fictional brothers are played by real-life siblings: David & Eitan Cunio do a good job, portraying nicely both savagery and, when things start to go wrong, exasperated bewilderment. I found Gita Amely, as the girl, to be tiring but that's probably because her role consisted mainly of grizzling a lot!

This bus scene ruined it all...

[ralaxing · 1/10 · 28 December 2023]

Could not finish this movie, since the scene in the bus just ruined for me. Not the girl, but all the people in the bus must have been blind to oversee, that the girl is getting kidnapped. I found it weird that the brother, who is in the military is always carrying a gun, sometimes with a magazine attached and sometimes not.

Overall there are too many shortcomings and the start of the movie is pretty slow, the first 10 minutes barely a word was spoken and just the daily routine was shown.

Maybe the movie gets better in the end, but as I said, I was just not interested after 1 hour. The trailer suggested that the movie would be more interesting.

Brothers in harm

[dbdumonteil · 8/10 · 1 April 2016]

A pedestrian title ,suitable for a movie which could happen everywhere.It's the first movie by this director,and it bodes well for his future.

The relationship between the two brothers is downright disturbing and could be depicted as latent homosexuality -for instance,the screenplay does not succumb to the usual cliché:one of the kidnappers fall in love with the victim ,and in a romantic gesture,wants to save her from his accomplice)-:the final scene will haunt you afterward:is it relief - in the barracks,the soldier first thought he was summoned because......His kid brother hears his dad talk about a lawyer-or a coming out of sorts?All along the movie ,the brothers' behavior -particularly that of the eldest who always carries his gun during his furlough.

The thriller side is almost of no consequence ,even though it's often very suspenseful;it seems that this youth (victim and abductors) are through with their parents' values : the girl says that they "keep their pathetic sabbath" ;the boys don't seem to understand why it's such an honor to do your military service and thus cause for celebration.

From the start ,who know that the attempt at kidnapping a "rich kid" -you can feel the big brother's hate for those who were born silver spoon in hand- is doomed ,because we deal with amateurs.Even the ransom is childish (152,000 dollars,it does not really make a round figure!the "2" is revealing),and the "methods" (scenes in the bus ) are ridiculous;the more they try to be nasty,the more ludicrous they seem;it peaks in the scene in front of the cash dispenser which refuses to give them more than 400 measly Sheckels.

It's really a promising start for Tom Shoval!

NB:One scene in the basement is played in English.

Doesn't take off

[Nozz · 4/10 · 24 April 2020]

"Youth" begins well and ends well. The filmmakers had the smart idea that a caper movie doesn't necessarily need to include a whole section about the planning of the caper. Why not just let the audience find out about it as it happens? Cool. In this case, a couple of brothers carry out a kidnapping, and they're played by real brothers. Also cool, except-- this may be a strange complaint-- they look a little too much alike. It helps that one of them is often in military uniform, but still we don't get as much of a sense of their separate personalities as the filmmakers wanted. And the sense of any arc that they and their victim go through is also too faint. Their difference in class could also have been better portrayed as an element of the dynamic. (As is, it revolves almost entirely around the quality of her mobile phone.) But the script regains its elegance at the end with a worthy twist and a touch of unfinished business.

Realistic Drama too close to Reality but full of Surprise

[shmulik-cohen · 9/10 · 12 September 2013]

Hanoar Youth 2013 Two Brothers one a Soldier with Automatic gun. Kidnap a Female Teenager Played by Gita Emily Hoping to cash the Ransom. This money should solve tough Financial Problems of the Family. Moshe Ivgy The Patriarchal Father has done similar Leading Roles in many Movies and TV series. He is having a Crisis. The Pace of the Movie is Fast and Full of Surprises Suitable for International Audiences. But Middle East is like that so at some points looks Boring.The excellent Script makes it like a Thriller. Hanoar (Youth) reminds us of Bar-Noar, An Attack on Homosexual Club for teenagers that took 4 years investigation and only recently the suspect was caught and Indicted. The Style is similar to CSI Miami Vice, Los Angeles or NYPD of New York. 9 out of 10 points.