The Policeman

Story

In 20 years of service, Azolai has never managed to get promoted from the rank of police constable. He’s just too scatty for the job and accepts even the most hare-brained excuses from criminals in Jaffa. But Azolai isn’t stupid: he has a knowledge of the Bible that astounds even the most Orthodox Jews, speaks French like a native and also a very poetic Arabic. His superiors aren’t convinced by these skills, however, and are intending to give Azolai early retirement – he on the other hand would dearly love to stay on. The criminals, too, have an active interest in keeping him in his job, so they come up with the idea of helping him to actually solve a crime. But that turns out to be more difficult than they thought. This comedy was a huge hit in Israel, got an Oscar® nomination in 1972 and won a Golden Globe.

Director

Ephraim Kishon (*1924; †2005) became world-famous as an author of satirical novels. The Policeman is one of nine films he directed himself.