The Vulture (film)
Encyclopedia
Director Yaky Yosha's
third feature, The Vulture, first screened in 1981, not long before the first war in Lebanon
, dealt with the problematic immortalization industry resultant from young war casualties. The film provoked great controversy among the Israeli public, which felt it has crossed a blood-red line. The Israeli censors cut The Vulture, but when selected to represent the country at the Cannes Film Festival
, it was screened uncut.
(1973). He left for the war with two friends and returned with one dead and one badly injured. Down and out and lonely, Boaz aimlessly wanders the streets of Tel-Aviv.
To comfort himself, Boaz goes to console his dead friend's parents, only to find himself sucked into a most complex relationship with the bereaved parents. First out of courtesy, then out of cynicism, Boaz gives them all they’re missing: a poem their son allegedly wrote, false tales of heroism and some occasional snapshots.
Out of thin air Boaz erects a false monument of a dead hero out of a fairly mediocre child, who didn't get to leave much behind him.
Before long, Boas is running a full scale immortalization industry, “manufacturing” for each bereaved family a creative, sensitive son. A soldier and a poet.
Boaz becomes romantically involved with his dead friend's girlfriend, and simultaneously with the beautiful coordinator in the army's memorial department. And so, by day they serve a holy trinity of comfort and immortality and by night they are fallen angels, ménage à trois.
Before too long, the next war breaks out. Boaz is called again for duty. Now an older, experienced officer, Boaz makes sure every single soldier in his company carries in his pocket a personal poem. Just in case.
The Vulture represented Israel at the Cannes Festival 1981.
Yaky Yosha
Yaky Yosha is an international critically acclaimed, award-winning film director from Israel, known for realism. Yosha’s films have often stirred social controversy in his homeland and outside of it. About his work Yosha once said: "Art only as Aesthetics is meaningless. As an artist, I am trying...
third feature, The Vulture, first screened in 1981, not long before the first war in Lebanon
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
, dealt with the problematic immortalization industry resultant from young war casualties. The film provoked great controversy among the Israeli public, which felt it has crossed a blood-red line. The Israeli censors cut The Vulture, but when selected to represent the country at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, it was screened uncut.
Plot
Boaz, a young officer, returns home from the Yom Kippur WarYom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
(1973). He left for the war with two friends and returned with one dead and one badly injured. Down and out and lonely, Boaz aimlessly wanders the streets of Tel-Aviv.
To comfort himself, Boaz goes to console his dead friend's parents, only to find himself sucked into a most complex relationship with the bereaved parents. First out of courtesy, then out of cynicism, Boaz gives them all they’re missing: a poem their son allegedly wrote, false tales of heroism and some occasional snapshots.
Out of thin air Boaz erects a false monument of a dead hero out of a fairly mediocre child, who didn't get to leave much behind him.
Before long, Boas is running a full scale immortalization industry, “manufacturing” for each bereaved family a creative, sensitive son. A soldier and a poet.
Boaz becomes romantically involved with his dead friend's girlfriend, and simultaneously with the beautiful coordinator in the army's memorial department. And so, by day they serve a holy trinity of comfort and immortality and by night they are fallen angels, ménage à trois.
Before too long, the next war breaks out. Boaz is called again for duty. Now an older, experienced officer, Boaz makes sure every single soldier in his company carries in his pocket a personal poem. Just in case.
The Vulture represented Israel at the Cannes Festival 1981.