Time of Favor
Encyclopedia
Time of Favor is Israeli writer-director Joseph Cedar's
2000 debut film, starring Aki Avni
. The film plays out a psychologically complex love triangle in the middle of terrorist conflict in Israel's West Bank.
The New York Times
called it an "art house thriller," and the Los Angeles Times
said it was "one of the most successful contemporary Israeli films."
Meltzer’s West Bank
Yeshiva
. At the same time, Rabbi Meltzer plays matchmaker with his daughter, Michal, and star student Pini. It’s no surprise that Michal, strong-willed and independent, prefers Manachem’s silent strength to Pini’s over excitement. The love triangle knots up and the political tension raises throughout the film until everyone’s allegiances are tested in the end.
“This land of Israel
is bought with pain,” says Michal, the Rabbi’s pale and skinny much desired daughter, as she looks out on the sandy mountains of the West Bank. Romantic love and patriotic love are both full of pain in Cedar's film.
Set in Israel, Time of Favor moves from the country's barren desert to a secret underground tunnel system. The characters bathe in underground pools, run through 1800 year-old catacombs
, and pray on large spreads of earth, where the barren nature impresses a sense of solemnity.
Cedar’s Zionist upbringing is apparent in this highly religious film. Time of Favor handles the Holy Land
with high regard and maintains a sense of solemnity throughout. The importance of prayer and tradition is stressed. Soldiers dressed in full uniform break from their training to open prayer books and raise their minds to God. The Rabbi’s religious position marks him as a strong authority in his community. He is trusted and respected, and his students, with total faith in him, follow his every wish.
described the film's "balanced, reflective and reasonable," tone.
The Village Voice said Time of Favor was a "flawed but engrossing thriller." There's a sort of tunnel vision that neglects the Palestinians, but the fact that an Israeli is a terrorist makes the film "exotic."
Time of Favor was nominated for six Israeli Film Academy Awards in 2000:
Time of Favor was nominated for a Peace Award from the American Political Film Society
in 2003, and won the Audience Award from the Washington Jewish Film Festival in 2001.
Joseph Cedar
Yossef Cedar is an Israeli film director and screenwriter. He has won a Silver Bear and an Ophir Award for Best Director, and an Ophir Award for writing a Best Screenplay. He also won the best screenplay award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. for his film Footnote .-Biography:Cedar was born in...
2000 debut film, starring Aki Avni
Aki Avni
Aki Avni is an Israeli actor, entertainer and television host. He appeared in the movie Free Zone with Natalie Portman. He also played the character Mohsen in the second season of the television series 24....
. The film plays out a psychologically complex love triangle in the middle of terrorist conflict in Israel's West Bank.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called it an "art house thriller," and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
said it was "one of the most successful contemporary Israeli films."
Plot
In Time of Favor Manachem, a handsome, stoic soldier in the Israeli Defense Force, is offered his own unit, made up of fellow students from RabbiRabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Meltzer’s West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
. At the same time, Rabbi Meltzer plays matchmaker with his daughter, Michal, and star student Pini. It’s no surprise that Michal, strong-willed and independent, prefers Manachem’s silent strength to Pini’s over excitement. The love triangle knots up and the political tension raises throughout the film until everyone’s allegiances are tested in the end.
“This land of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
is bought with pain,” says Michal, the Rabbi’s pale and skinny much desired daughter, as she looks out on the sandy mountains of the West Bank. Romantic love and patriotic love are both full of pain in Cedar's film.
Set in Israel, Time of Favor moves from the country's barren desert to a secret underground tunnel system. The characters bathe in underground pools, run through 1800 year-old catacombs
Catacombs
Catacombs, human-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place can be described as a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman empire...
, and pray on large spreads of earth, where the barren nature impresses a sense of solemnity.
Cedar’s Zionist upbringing is apparent in this highly religious film. Time of Favor handles the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
with high regard and maintains a sense of solemnity throughout. The importance of prayer and tradition is stressed. Soldiers dressed in full uniform break from their training to open prayer books and raise their minds to God. The Rabbi’s religious position marks him as a strong authority in his community. He is trusted and respected, and his students, with total faith in him, follow his every wish.
Cast
- Aki Avni as Menachem
- Tinkerbell as Michal
- Idan Alterman as Pini
- Assi Dayan as Rabbi Meltzer
- Abraham Celektar as Itamar (as Micha Selektar)
- Amnon Volf as Mookie
- Shimon Mimran as Benny
- Uri Klauzner as Sivan (as Uri Klausner)
- Samuel Calderon as Doron (as Shemuel Kalderon)
Reception
Time of Favor met with mixed reviews. The film's complex depiction of Israel was generally praised. Cedar, an Israeli, offers an insider's unique, nuanced look at his homeland. While he's mildly critical of the settlements in the West Bank, he remains respectful towards the religious who live there. The Los Angeles Times gave the film a glowing review, calling it "intensely contemporary," and the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
described the film's "balanced, reflective and reasonable," tone.
The Village Voice said Time of Favor was a "flawed but engrossing thriller." There's a sort of tunnel vision that neglects the Palestinians, but the fact that an Israeli is a terrorist makes the film "exotic."
Awards
Time of Favor won five awards from the Israeli Film Academy Awards in 2000:- Best Actor--Aki AvniAki AvniAki Avni is an Israeli actor, entertainer and television host. He appeared in the movie Free Zone with Natalie Portman. He also played the character Mohsen in the second season of the television series 24....
- Best Actress--Tinkerbell
- Best CinematographyCinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
--Ofer Inov - Best Film
- Best ScreenplayScreenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
--Joseph CedarJoseph CedarYossef Cedar is an Israeli film director and screenwriter. He has won a Silver Bear and an Ophir Award for Best Director, and an Ophir Award for writing a Best Screenplay. He also won the best screenplay award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. for his film Footnote .-Biography:Cedar was born in...
Time of Favor was nominated for six Israeli Film Academy Awards in 2000:
- Best Art Direction-- Yair Greenberg
- Best Costume DesignCostume designCostume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
-- Etti Luggassi - Best EditingEditingEditing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
-- Tova Asher - Best Music-- Jonathan Bar GioraJonathan Bar GioraJonathan Bar Giora is an Israeli composer and pianist.Since 2000, Bar Giora composed scores and soundtracks for some of the most popular and world-known Israeli films, such as Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi, Time of Favor, Aviva My Love and others.He also worked as a composer with Israeli stars such as...
- Best Sound-- Israel David and John PurcellJohn PurcellJohn Purcell VC was an Irish soldier in the British Army who received the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
- Best Supporting Actor-- Idan Alterman
Time of Favor was nominated for a Peace Award from the American Political Film Society
Political Film Society
The Political Film Society is a nonprofit corporation that exists to recognize Hollywood films' ability to raise awareness in political matters in the world. Film makers are the ones who are awarded by this organization...
in 2003, and won the Audience Award from the Washington Jewish Film Festival in 2001.