Two women with little in common are brought together by the shared annoyances of military service in this comedy drama from Israel. Mirit (Naama Schendar) is an 18-year-old woman serving her compulsory hitch with the Israeli Army in Jerusalem, and while she's hardworking and dedicated, the rigid discipline goes against her free-spirited nature and she's not sure how she feels about her work, especially when it means being ordered to harass Arabs by her superior officer, Dubek (Irit Suki).
Another soldier in the same platoon, Smadar (Smadar Sayar), can't be said to have mixed feelings about the Army -- she clearly hates it and begs her wealthy and influential parents to have her transferred. When Mirit and her friends openly rebel against Dubek, Smadar sides with the officer, and relations between Mirit and Smadar are strained until a terrorist bombing puts the two women on common ground. They soon land a cushy assignment checking baggage at a luxury hotel, but when Mirit has a brief fling with a guest at the inn, it throws her military career in a tailspin, and Smadar is powerless to help her friend. Karov la Bayit (aka Close to Home) was the first feature film for the writing and directing team of Vidi Bilu and Dalia Hager. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
While Close to Home follows a predictable path in its story, it's not without its charms, much of it down to the very believable portrayal of the young soldiers who view many of their duties with the world-weariness of terminally bored teens.
Both [main actresses] show their characters' growth while steadfastly and, sadly, unsuccessfully trying to hold on to the last vestiges of their innocence. If that's not the real tragedy of life in the Middle East, I don't know what is.
This movie just seems like a scattered excuse to make political points without saying much of anything. Worse, it also fails to show us, with any vividness, how Mirit and Smadar think and feel as women.
Like many Israeli films, Close to Home is strikingly sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians and, as such, qualifies as exemplary humanism under the most extreme pressure.
Our wide eyed, angel faced chayalot drift hypnotized toward the center of the chaos and we realize that in Israel, there cannot be a movie about just regular teenage girls
Close to Home is no buddy-cop, action-comedy ... it leaves out the action and the comedy so all that is left is a predictable narrative with no entertainment appeal.
A haunting autopsy of how the personal can obliterate the political, as the oppressors rationalize, repress and then casually repeat the day-to-day injustices they're paid to commit for a society eager to forget its sins.
An uncanny coming-of-age examination of the different ways in which two young women adapt to circumstances beyond their control to survive a situation bigger than the both of them.
One of the most unusual coming-of-age stories I've ever seen, "Close to Home" offers the same teen-angst themes as some American movies but against a backdrop of war and politics.
A slyly subversive insight into the role of women in the Israeli military, this is a surprisingly compassionate satire that makes its political points without resorting to caricature.
The movie is awkwardly mounted and formlessly episodic as it meanders from one day to the next, finally losing itself in a forest of coming-of-age clichés.
Though the subject matter is original, and these young soldiers portrayed with great sympathy, Close to Home would have benefited from more disciplined storytelling.
A very personal and human story detailing the acts those enlisted on military service must go through is Israel. It shows the humiliation they must inflict on others and the humiliation they feel in return, as they stop every Arab they see for Identity checks. It's perfectly understandable for all viewers in the time
of a war on terror. We understand why these checks must be carried out but also the anger of those being checked. Add to ths the fact that the two main girls are just that. They giggle about crushes and lust after hats.Even the ball busting superior officer shows she is just a girl at heart by making out with boys down alleys and getting excited over sweaters. It all amplifies how these are young women doing a very difficult and admirable job. Neither really enjoys their job though one will do anything to make sure it is done whilst the other refuses to degrade herself. As their friendship grows so does their understanding of each other. It's frightful, funny and quite shocking when the reasons for such tight security are shown to us. The final scene is just perfect in tone and execution as everybody reaches emotional boiling point.
How memorable is this movie? I watched, thinking, "I've seen this part," all the way through. Only when I got to the end, did I realize I had seen the whole thing before. The girls are lovely, but never seem to understand the seriousness of what they are doing. They are young, and innocent and just out to have a good
time. They spend their days trying to dodge the inspection patrols and do just enough to stay out of trouble. The lack of any particular focus for the story makes this a forgettable film. Still. I've sat through it twice now, so it can't be all bad.
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