The Holy Land (2003)
53 %
Reviews Counted: 53 Fresh: 28 Rotten:25 Average Rating: 5.8/10
Consensus:
This messy coming-of-age tale is of interest only because of where the story takes place.
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Theatrical Release: Jul 11, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: Mendy (Oren Rehany) is a young man living in Bnei Brak, Israel, struggling to keep his mind focused on rabbinical school. His family is supportive of him, and they realize that adolescence involves soul-searching and discontent. But his teacher sees that deep down Mendy is full of lust, and he... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Saul Stein, Tchelet Semel, Albert Illuz, Arie Moskuna, Oren Rehany
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Reviews
Gave me a better understanding of what it's like to live in modern Israel.
Comment
09/13/04
The Holy Land espouses love and sex and in the wrong, or right places, and doesn't flinch, even if the story wanders off into an occasional dramatic desert.
12/15/03
The flat dialogue and cardboard characters often undercut any social points that Gorlin seems on the verge of scoring.
12/04/03
Casts intriguing characters in interesting situations but leaves them adrift in a disjointed narrative that gives away its conclusion too early.
11/28/03
Top Critic
Too many characters, each too quickly drawn, hobble the film's momentum.
11/21/03
Top Critic
Gorlin's vignettes work only in fits and starts, and his plodding pace makes 96 minutes seem like so many hours.
11/18/03
putting a human face on the same tribulations that many face in Jerusalem
11/04/03
Top Critic
Gorlin's main agenda is to show that young Mendy hasn't at all found the respite from Judaism he perceives, but there's just as much torque to the relationship between this naïf and his hooker of choice.
10/31/03
[Gorlin] tries to bring in too many elements without laying the groundwork for them or placing them in context.
10/31/03
The screenplay doesn't have enough force to take us anywhere particularly interesting.
10/31/03
Gorlin supposedly based this material on some of his own experiences in Israel, but it still seems overly familiar.
10/24/03
Director-writer Eitan Gorlin provides flashes of the dire straits of Jerusalem life ... but fails in the end to bring them together into a relatable or sympathetic story.
10/24/03
Fails to capture the anguish and struggles of an ultra-Orthodox Jew adapting to a more secular world.
10/16/03
The movie flounders in a way that calls too much attention to itself -- and is hurt by jarring and unbelievable plot twists.
10/10/03
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