Comfortably Numb
Folman captures personal testimonies, turning the camera on different people as they share their experiences, he wanders around the deserted nocturnal streets of the city sniffing out fear and he documents slivers of everyday life, sometimes seriously, sometimes with humor, but always with endless reserves of understanding.
Rarely screened, Ari Folman’s widely unknown student film, made in 1991, might be somewhat unsophisticated, but it holds special interest for two very good reasons: on the one hand it initiates the director into the genre of political cinema and documentary tactics, two elements he would explore exhaustively throughout his career.
One the other hand, it’s a historical document, a realistic chronicle of a terrified Tel Aviv at the beginning of the Gulf War, when residents were still struggling to adapt to the everyday terror of living under constant threat of Iraqi missile attacks.
Folman captures personal testimonies, turning the camera on different people as they share their experiences, he wanders around the deserted nocturnal streets of the city sniffing out fear and he documents slivers of everyday life, sometimes seriously, sometimes with humor, but always with endless reserves of understanding. L.K.
Εναλλακτικοί τίτλοι / Alternative titles: Comfortably Numb / Sha'anan Si
Σκηνοθεσία / Director: Ari Folman, Ori Sivan
Ισραήλ / Israel
1991
Εγχρωμο / Color
40'
