16 Friday, December 21, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS MOVIES A film frame-up? BUMPING • PAINTING • INSURANCE ESTIMATES "Foreign Car Specialty Shop" 12131 WORMER INDUSTRIAL PARK SOUTH REDFORD, MICHIGAN 48239 (313) 533-8900 - 01 BY CARL ALPERT Special to The Jewish News Beyond the Walls, a Haifa new full-length Israel film prod- uction, is already a major object of interest and controversy. On the one hand, it won the prize as best film at the Venice International Film Festival, and is being prom- inently mentioned as an Oscar contender. Critics in Israel have hailed it as perhaps the best film ever made here, a genuine break- through to high international standards. On the other hand, it has been condemned as being "pro-Arab," and Meir Kahane's followers have noisily picketed local showings. On the surface, Beyond the Walls is a classic tale of the brut- ality of life behind prison walls, except that in this instance there is a complicating factor: the in- mates are Jews and Arabs who hate each other, and find common cause only in their hatred of the prison system and the corrupt warden. The casting and the char- acterizations would appear to lend substance to the accusations against the picture. The leader of the Jewish prisoners is a bank robber, excitable, dark, brooding, a mean and vicious looking crimi- nal. The leader of the Arabs, though admittedly a terrorist, is tall, handsome, blue-eyed, classically heroic in manner. Is this a deliberate attempt to con- found accepted stereotypes? The hostility between the two groups crackles throughout, and several times approaches a break- ing point. The explosion, when it does come, however, is directed against the prison administra- tion. The two groups, reluctantly at first, find themselves united against a common enemy. The story is tense and well developed, down to the climax which reaches no clear or specific conclusion. The Hebrew title really means "Behind Bars," but the English version provides a symbolic suggestion that the unity of pur- pose which Jews and Arabs found under these circumstances in prison could somehow be achieved also "beyond" or outside the walls. Cinema laurels aside, will the picture be good for Israel? Will viewers overseas be affected by this presentation of an ugly side of Israel's society, and tend to look upon the brutality and corruption of prison life, with its murders, its drug addiction and its homosex- ual animalism, as typical of life and standards in Israel as a whole? Or will they Lome away with the feelings that some of the domestic critics 11 • expressed? The critic of M. awrote that "we are all imprisoned together in a common situation, and sooner or later we shall discover that the others are not animals, but human beings like us; if we truly will it, we can learn to live to- gether." To the Jerusalem Post the pic- ture is an allegory, a message of "peace and understanding." Where films are often "pessimis- tic concerning human behavior, or critical, desperate, angry or frustrated . . . very rarely are they hopeful . . . which is what Beyond the Walls manages to be and quite successfully. — OWNER BILL RUDYKA AT GORMAN'S GALLERY 353-9880 The Concord.Mariner SGTM makes the bulky sportswatch passé. ................... .......... , The slim, sleek Sportswatch with stamina. The Concord Mariner SG in rich 14 karat gold with day and date. The stainless steel/14 karat gold "SG" has date and sweep second hand. And the black "SG" is chromium finished stainless steel and 14 karat gold. All water-resistant and electronic quartz. HAPPY CHANUKAH! We have the largest selection of Concord watches. I; All jewelry custom made to your order on the premises • Expert watch repair 32940 Middlebelt at 14 Mile in the Broadway Plaza Farmington Hills 855-1730 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-6 Thurs. 10:00 to 8:00 OPEN SUN. 12.5 Dec. 16 & 23rd LARGEST SELECTION OF WATCHES Uri Barbash, the director, told Yediot Ahronot that he did intend symbolism, to the effect that "we in Israel are in a prison of our own making — a prison of prejudices and group hatreds." No problems are solved in the finale, but Bar- bash intends to convey an up-beat note. Common cause "is our hope in this country," he says. Yet Yediot cannot refrain from won- dering why in general the Arabs are presented as positive char- acters, though we know they are terrorists sentenced for killing women and children, while the Jewish prisoners are for the most part negative and unpleasant. A word of caution to the over- seas viewer. The language on the Hebrew ,sound track is in prison The Hebrew title really means 'Behind Bars,' but the English version provides a symbolic suggestion. idiom, but for some reason the English sub-titles, at least those shown in Israel, descend to vul- garity and gutter coarseness far in excess of the original. Was this supposed to make the picture con- form to avant-garde require- ments? Or is it simply recognition of the fact that the Hebrew lan- guage is deficient in a variety of such expressions? At any rate, Beyond the Walls packs enough intrinsic punch without making it necessary to resort to this sort of cheapness. Audiences overseas will soon have opportunity to see the pic- ture, which is being distributed by Warner Brothers. NEWS Wagner chairs YI retreat New York — Rabbi Feivel Wagner, former spiritual leader .,of Young Israel of Greenfield, has been selected to chair the program of the Second Annual Midwinter Torah Retreat of the National Council of Young Israel in Feb- ruary. Rabbi Wagner announced that the theme of the program would be "The Torah Confronts Society: Moral and Ethical Dilemmas." For information, call the Na- tional Council of Young Israel, (212) 929-1525. Award winner New York — "Future Tech .. . From Technion," a documentary film illustrating the contribution of the Technion and its graduates to Israel's science-based indus- tries, won a bronze medal in the 1984 International Film and TV Festival of New York.