Zero Motivation - JIFF 2014
On a remote desert army base in southern Israel, very important strategic military maneuvers are being mapped out in a smoke-filled hot office, and the big wigs are getting irritated due to the lack of refreshments.
A male superior officer directs his discontent to a female officer - Rama (Shani Klein) - who promptly rushes off to hunt down the culprit who’s failed at the mundane task of making and delivering of beverages. Rama’s frustration is palpable.
Adding to her stress, just as Rama is about to serve the refreshments to the officers, a flurry of young women donning uniforms waltz into the office/kitchen, coming back from weekend leave, spewing dialogue of extreme discontent with the military forces. Among them are Daffi (Nelly Tagar), a young woman who clearly has no desire of returning to her duties, and Zohar (Dana Ivgy) her comrade in arms, equally unenthused.
After Rama hurls a rapid and heated verbal reprimand their way, the two soldiers enter the meeting room with trays in hand. As the officers ogle at them, it is clear that the young women are viewed as mere wait staff, and eye candy.
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| © Yaron Scharf |
The film narrates the stories of three female soldiers who must complete compulsory military service, but like many women in the Israeli armed forces, they are in offices throughout the country helping fight the war by playing a role of clerical Girls Friday to their male counterparts.
Zero Motivation’s director, Talia Lavie, successfully conveys the challenging and helpless state of mind, the bureaucracy-bound female soldiers must feel, while performing elementary tasks such as paper shredding and filing, among other.
The Israeli film is reminiscent of the American film Private Benjamin; although released nearly a quarter century ago, the two stories have its main characters encounter similar misogynistic glass ceiling obstacles. And like Private Benjamin, Zero Motivation is a wonderfully entertaining dark comedy, dotted with laugh-out-loud situations and peppered with clever dialogue, successfully connecting with its audiences on a human level which anyone can relate to and empathise.
This film manages to depict some valid concerns about the role of a woman in the military without ever waving the proverbial anti-male flag - on the contrary - shining a much needed light on women’s struggles everywhere, using humour as its vehicle and a bit of unexpected supernatural activity.
Zero Motivation is part of this year's Jewish International Film Festival.
Zero Motivation is part of this year's Jewish International Film Festival.
Director: Talya Lavie
Cast: Dana Ivgy, Nelly Tagar, Shani Klein, Tamara Klingon, Yonit Tobi, Heli Twito, Meytal Gal, Yuval Segal, Elad Scemama.
Director: Hebrew, with English subtitles
Running Time: 101 minutes
Jewish International Film Festival 2014
Sydney
29 Oct - 16 Nov 2014
Melbourne
5 - 23 November 2014
Gold Coast & Perth
15, 16 & 23 Nov 2014
Auckland
16 & 23 Nov 2014
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