Avanti Popolo

Story

June 1967. After the ceasefire in the Six-Day War, two Egyptian soldiers who have become separated from their unit come across an Israeli patrol in the Sinai desert. One of the Egyptians, Haled, an actor in civilian life, asks the Israelis for water by reciting Shylock’s monologue from The Merchant of Venice: “I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?” It is the beginning of a very special kind of contact with the enemy full of surreal imagery and satirical humour. The film had a very mixed reception in Israel, due to its pacifistic attitude and understanding of the former enemy.

Director

RAFI BUKAI (*1957; †2003) was the son of a cinema owner and studied film in Tel Aviv. Avanti Popolo was his debut and is today a classic of Israeli cinema. Avanti Popolo won the Golden Leopard in Locarno and is seen as one of the most outstanding anti-war films in cinema history.