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The Matchmaker

Original title: Once I Was
  • 2010
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
901
YOUR RATING
Dror Keren, Adir Miller, Maya Dagan, Tuval Shafir, and Neta Porat in The Matchmaker (2010)
Drama

During the summer of 1968 a teenage boy goes to work for a matchmaker who has survived the Holocaust - both their lives are forever altered.During the summer of 1968 a teenage boy goes to work for a matchmaker who has survived the Holocaust - both their lives are forever altered.During the summer of 1968 a teenage boy goes to work for a matchmaker who has survived the Holocaust - both their lives are forever altered.

  • Director
    • Avi Nesher
  • Writers
    • Amir Gutfreund
    • Avi Nesher
  • Stars
    • Adir Miller
    • Maya Dagan
    • Dror Keren
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    901
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Avi Nesher
    • Writers
      • Amir Gutfreund
      • Avi Nesher
    • Stars
      • Adir Miller
      • Maya Dagan
      • Dror Keren
    • 12User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 7 nominations total

    Photos9

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    Top cast57

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    Adir Miller
    Adir Miller
    • Yankele Bride
    Maya Dagan
    Maya Dagan
    • Clara Epstein
    Dror Keren
    Dror Keren
    • Meir the Librarian
    Tuval Shafir
    Tuval Shafir
    • Arik Burstein
    Neta Porat
    Neta Porat
    • Tamara
    Bat-El Papura
    Bat-El Papura
    • Sylvia
    Dov Navon
    Dov Navon
    • Yozi Burstein
    Yarden Bar-Kochba
    Yarden Bar-Kochba
    • Nili Burstein
    • (as Yarden Bar Kochva)
    Yael Levental
    Yael Levental
    • Tikva Abadi
    • (as Yael Leventhal)
    Kobi Farag
    Kobi Farag
    • Moshe Abadi
    • (as Kobi Faraj)
    Tom Gal
    • Benny Abadi
    Eli Yatzpan
    Eli Yatzpan
    • Uncle Nadgi
    Eyal Shehter
    Eyal Shehter
    • Arik Burstein (Adult)
    • (as Eyal Schechter)
    Ya'ackov Bodo
    Ya'ackov Bodo
    • Advocate Segelson
    • (as Yaacov Bodo)
    Tair Leah Arad
    • Michal Abadi
    Ben Kippris
    • Yoram
    • (as Ben Kipris)
    Aharon Zilberberg
    • Yonel
    Assi Yitzchaki
    • Vendor
    • Director
      • Avi Nesher
    • Writers
      • Amir Gutfreund
      • Avi Nesher
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    7.3901
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    Featured reviews

    4dromasca

    Adir Miller could not save the film from failure

    For once the translation of the title works better than the name of the film itself. I did not like 'Paam Haiti' - the Hebrew name of Avi Nesher's film which translates into 'Once I Was' - which says too little about the characters in the movie and the world they live in. 'The Matchmaker' while focusing only on the principal character catches the essential, as the best part in the film in my opinion is indeed the hero played by Adir Miller.

    Yankele Bride is a Holocaust survivor who lives in the harbor area of the Israeli city of Haifa in 1968. This is the year after the victory of Israel in the Six Days War, maybe the best year in the history of the young country, although the clouds of the continuing conflict with the Arab countries around are often seen or heard in the headlines shouted by the boys selling newspapers (there were no TV news flashes then, at least not in Israel who was going to have its first TV station only one or two years later). However, the principal heroes of the film do not and cannot share the atmosphere of optimism around - they are Holocaust survivors who live in a country which was created to harbor them, but is unwilling or unable to cope with the horror, the pain, the shame of what they went through. The extraordinary person who is Yankele Bride tries to cure at least part of them, to find for them the peer souls, to heal by bringing love. It's an extraordinary story, which unfortunately did not result into a good film - at least in my view.

    Although not as successful as Nesher's previous film 'Turn Left at the End of the World' (that one had a fantastic title!) 'The Matchmaker' enjoyed a good reception in Israel. I confess I did not like it. I simply cannot cope with Nesher's style which mixes moving stories with the traditional (and outdated IMO) style of film-making that was popular in the 70s and 80s in Israel. His usage of popular actors is a waste, and having the extraordinary Miller and the tragic act of Maya Dagan coexist with the unnecessary make-up applied to Dov Navon and the clowny act of Eli Yatzpan is a combination that simply does not work. The coming to age story while acted quite well by the younger actors was unclear and brought back forcefully memories of an older film of Nesher (Ha Lahaka - The Band) from the beginning of the 80. Nesher has problems in telling the story even with the help of off-screen comments. Emphasize was put on building the atmosphere of Haifa in the 60s and this succeeds pretty well, but other details are carelessly treated - the characters are supposed to speak Hebrew with a Romanian accent, but this not how Romanian accent sounds in Hebrew, and worst of all - a Jew from Iasi (Yassi) in Romania would have had close to zero chances to get into Auschwitz during the second world war where numbers where tattooed on the arms of the prisoners. Overall this film deals with an important theme and brings to screen interesting characters, but the realization is disappointing, and even Adir Miller's impressing performance cannot save it from failure.
    7saadanathan

    A Fantastic Coming to age movie by Avi Nesher 7/10

    "The Matchmaker" (or Once I Was in Hebrew) is a movie by Avi Nesher, one of Israel's finest directors and one who has shaped Israeli cinema for decades.

    The movie centers around the memories of an author, when he was a kid in 1968 in Haifa and the relationship he had with his father's childhood friend, Yankale Bride (Adir Miller).

    Yankale Bride is a Matchmaker who recruits Erik (Tuval Shaffir, the author) for a summer job to search for people who wish to get married. The movie centers around all of Erik's tales and adventures during that summer vacation: How he falls in love with Tamara (Neta Porat), how he writes about his life as a mystery book, his love for spy and mystery tales and his encounter with the secrets of his fellow Yankale Bride.

    Adir Miller and Maya Dagan are a good duo together throughout the whole film. The rest of the cast is perfect and lovely. The focus on the characters is really delicate. The movie shows the struggle of the characters facing the aftermath of the Holocaust and how people didn't know much about it.

    The movie in general focuses on the theme of coming to age among kids, most certainly Erik, who narrates the movie throughout its span. Overall I really enjoyed it, Avi Nesher is known to be a director who focuses on many themes and genres in his movies, just like Spielberg. Even though many believe his movies to be too deep and heavy, this one is less heavy and more emotional and entertaining. Highly recommend it.
    10avocadess

    This is what I'm talking' about...!!!

    THIS is how movies should be made -- but all to often are not...! When it comes to the movies that have been coming out in the past 30-plus years, but most especially the past 15 years, I pretty much have lost my appetite for film-watching as a hobby. Fortunately, there are some exceptions to the rule, the THE MATCHMAKER, set in Israel, is one of them! Forget the Hollywood formula flicks, special effects, "cool" creeps and so much in recent films that have all but ruined movies for me. Once in a while, when I have just about lost all hope, I can still find a jewel like this film.

    I'm not going to tell you anything about it, except that it is "all that," without the vulgarities that run rampant in films today or the philosophical slants that try to convince the viewer that black is white and white is black. Nope. It's just excellent -- the story line, the cinematography, the acting, the settings. Just plain excellent. BRAVO!
    9atkinson112

    Tears and tears...

    After 'The Other Story', I wanted to see more of Nesher's films and found that one. Its not like the previous titles in Nesher's filmography and yet I cried so much at the ending. It really because of the charachters that nesher's having.
    8larry-411

    Noir thriller-cum-coming-of-age dramatic comedy that delights

    Star Adir Miller plays Holocaust survivor Yankele Bride, a shady matchmaker with some mysterious operations on the side. He takes on a wide-eyed young apprentice, Arik (Tuval Shafir), who just wants an easy summer job. Naturally, the boy gets more than he bargained for in this classic tale of an ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary situation.

    Miller, a veteran television actor, writer, and producer, is captivating (and a dead ringer for Vincent D'Onofrio). He dominates the screen, masterfully orchestrating the actors, and action, in every scene he's in. Shafir plays the streetwise assistant with a magnetic vulnerability that charms everyone who crosses his path. He's quite experienced himself as a teen idol in his native country, having grown up on Israeli TV as the star of a long-running hit series.

    Writer/director Avi Nesher is a true veteran (this is his 16th feature), and it shows. Production values are high, befitting a director considered an icon of Israeli cinema. Veteran cinematographer Michel Abramowicz effectively captures the dramatic landscape of this Mediterranean port city, filled with bright blue skies, lush vegetation, and sweeping mountain vistas. "The Matchmaker" uses multiple locations, both exterior as well as interior. Arik's youthful world is brightly lit with a vibrant primary color palette -- not the pale, washed out blues and grays typical of modestly budgeted European films. In contrast, the seedy underbelly of the city within which Yankele operates is ominously dark and dusty, filled with shadows and potential dangers lurking around every corner.

    Although set in Haifa in 1968, "The Matchmaker" could easily be a classic American noir thriller-cum-coming-of-age dramatic comedy. The evocative soundtrack of original late 60s songs is a plus (Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"). Definitely worth repeat viewings.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Authors mentioned by Meir and Arik in the library include Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888 -1970; Nobel Prize laureate writer and a major figure of modern Hebrew writing) and Yehiel Dinur (1909 - 2001; also spelled Dinoor or De-Nur; also known by his pen name Ka-Tsetnik, a Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor).
    • Goofs
      Arik has a promotional picture of John Wayne from the film, "The Cowboys:", on his wall. This film was not released until i972, 4 years after this film's setting.
    • Crazy credits
      Composer Philippe Sarde wishes to dedicate his score in memory of his grandmother Marie.
    • Connections
      References The Kid (1921)
    • Soundtracks
      Balkan Folk Songs
      Accordion by Anatolie Gieko

      Violin by Pavel Levine

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 17, 2012 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Israel
    • Language
      • Hebrew
    • Also known as
      • Provodadžija
    • Filming locations
      • Haifa, Israel
    • Production companies
      • Metro Communications
      • Artomas Communications
      • United Channel Movies
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $2,150,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,920
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 52 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital

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    Dror Keren, Adir Miller, Maya Dagan, Tuval Shafir, and Neta Porat in The Matchmaker (2010)
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