The Israeli anti-war film “The Vanishing Soldier” (German title: “Der verschwundene Soldat”) by Dani Rosenberg will be shown nationwide starting this week, but also daily at CineK in Oldenburg. This Sunday, September 20, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., after the screening of the film (in the Hebrew original with German subtitles) in Oldenburg, there will be a follow-up discussion with the team from HAKOLNOA. The Hebrew word ‘hakolnoa’ means “the cinema” and is composed of the terms for “everything moves” and “the voice moves”. During the discussion, the topics of the film will be explored in more depth in order to reflect on current issues together with the guests.
Der Film um Shlomi, einen 18-jährigen israelischen IDF-Soldaten, der sich regelwidrig von der im Gaza-Streifen kämpfenden Truppe entfernt um zu seiner Freundin nach Tel Aviv zu flüchten, ist der zweite Langspielfilm des israelischen Regisseurs Dani Rosenberg (geb. 1979). Der Film ist ein eindrückliches, poetisches und existenzielles Bild einer Jugend in Israel, einer jungen Generation, die sich mit dem Dauerzustand von Landesverteidigung und Krieg konfrontiert sieht.
Inhalt
Im Morgengrauen nach einem Kampfeinsatz im Gaza-Streifen entfernt sich Shlomi Aharonov, ein 18-jähriger Infantriesoldat der Golani-Brigade, von seiner Einheit und der Truppe, indem er einfach wegläuft. Sein Weg führt ihn zunächst zum Haus seiner Eltern in der Siedlung Sde Uziel auf dem Land. Seine Eltern trifft er nicht an. Als Soldaten vor dem Haus auftauchen um offensichtlich seine Eltern aufsuchen zu wollen, flüchtet Shlomi mit einem Fahrrad. Schließlich gelangt er mit einem Militärbus, in welchem er unerkannt mitfahren kann, nach Tel Aviv, wo er seine Freundin Shiri auf Arbeit besucht.
Als Shlomi erfährt, dass die Militärführung davon überzeugt ist, dass er in den Kriegswirren entführt wurde, versteckt er sich nicht mehr vor den Soldaten, von denen er glaubte, dass sie hinter ihm her sind, sondern vor seiner eigenen Identität, die zu einer Falle geworden ist. Trotz der Bitten seiner Eltern, zu seiner Einheit zurückzukehren, bevor es zu spät ist, geht Shlomi ein verzweifeltes Risiko für die Liebe ein – mit dramatischen Folgen. Diese tragisch-komische Reise, die sich über einen Zeitraum von 24 Stunden in den heißen und feuchten Straßen von Tel Aviv abspielt, wechselt von Schrecken zu Hoffnung, von Romantik zu Albtraum.
Der Film feierte seine Weltpremiere beim 76. Locarno Film Festival und erhielt 11 Nominierungen bei den Ophir Awards, darunter auch für den “besten Film“. “The Vanishing Soldier” wurde auf bedeutenden deutschen Filmfestivals gezeigt, darunter das Filmfest Hamburg und das 30. Jüdische Filmfestival Berlin Brandenburg (JFBB). Beim JFBB 2024 erhielt Hauptdarsteller Ido Tako die Auszeichnung als “bester Nachwuchsschauspieler“.
About Dani Rosenberg (Director und co-writer)
Born in 1979 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, he studied at the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem, graduating with honors in 2006.
The short films “Don Kishot be’Yerushalaim” (2005) and “Susya” (2011) were shown at the Berlin International Film Festival. After working on the medium-length film “Homeland” (2008) and various television series, his feature film “ The Death of Cinema and My Father Too” (2020) was selected for the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2020 and won the Haggiag Film Prize at the Jerusalem Film Festival 2020.
His award-winning short films have been screened at renowned international film festivals, including Cannes Cinéfondation Competition, Berlinale, Clermont Ferrand, HotDocs and IDFA.
His acclaimed TV series “Milk & Honey” was successfully adapted in Germany and France. Dani Rosenberg co-wrote a documentary film, “Zohar, The Return,” and co-adapted Sholem Asch‘s “God of Vengeance” for Israel’s leading theater, “The Cameri,” in 2018. “The Vanishing Soldier” is Dani Rosenberg‘s second feature-length film.
Data about the movie
| Title: |
The Vanishing Soldier
|
| Origina tilte: |
החייל הנעלם
|
| Director: | Dani Rosenberg |
| Script/book: |
Dani Rosenberg, Amir Klinger
|
| Producer: |
Avraham Pirchi, Chilik Michaeli, Itamar Pirchi, Leon Edery, Moshe Edery
|
| Actors: |
Ido Tako, Mika Reiss, Efrat Ben Tzur, Tikva Dayan, Shmulik Cohen, Yariv Horowitz, Seif Nabul, Mushy Vider
|
| Cinematography: |
David Stragmeister
|
| Editing: |
Nili Feller
|
| Country | Israel |
| Year of production: | 2023 |
| Producer: |
Israel Film Fund, United Channel Movies
|
| Genres: |
Drama, Thriller, War
|
| Lenght: | 98 Min |
| Language: |
Hebrew, English (original languages), German dubbed version |
| Subtitles: | English, German |
| Aspect Ratio: |
2,39:1 (2048×858)
|
| Sound: |
5.1 Surround (DCP)
|
| FSK: | 12 |
Reactions to the film
“In its rousing, restless form, the film finds an image for the all-too-understandable insecurity of young people who have been given a weapon. In this way, it has become a universally readable anti-war film.” (Frankfurter Rundschau)
“Between the two poles of a love story and a political drama, director Dani Rosenberg weaves a complex, multi-layered portrait of Israeli society in »The Disappeared Soldier«.” (Jüdische Allgemeine)
“The Disappeared Soldier does not relativize the suffering of one side with that of the other. His aim is to observe a deadlocked situation in which his characters react with patriotic glorification, fear and self-doubt, and paralyzed opportunism.” (Der Freitag)
“Between the two poles of a love story and a political drama, director Dani Rosenberg weaves a complex, multi-layered portrait of Israeli society, which is caught in an equally bipolar state: the longing for unconditionality (love) is always juxtaposed with a deep existential threat. Tomorrow it could all be over.” (Filmdienst)
“The young director Dani Rosenberg stages a pulsating drama with a clear position, an anti-war film that describes the Middle East conflict from an Israeli point of view and sharply criticizes the settlement policy of its own government. He shows that the cracks not only go through Israeli society, but also affect families and circles of friends of a generation that grew up in the middle of the conflict.” (EPD)
“The Vanishing Soldier” brilliantly captures the decisive moment when everything changes, when martial patriotism disintegrates into an awareness of the unbearable. A film that is as pessimistic as it is optimistic, at exactly the right time to ask the big questions of our time. (Culturopoing.com)
“Written and shot between 2022 and 2023, director Dani Rosenberg’s portrait of a lost youth deals with the suppressed reality of the occupation and religious fanaticism in Israel and Palestine. The massacre of October 7 and the Gaza war naturally give the film a completely different relevance.” (arte)
More information about the movie: The Vanishing Soldier
More information about the film label: Artkeim²
