Ignorance in Bloom: Why Woody Allen Should Make A Movie In Israel

Just the other day I was doing my usual Daily Maverick browsing session when I came across an article by Kevin Bloom entitled "Bullets Over Tel-Aviv: Why Woody Allen shouldn't shoot in Israel" For those of you haven't read it, let me break it down for you. The article states that Woody Allen has expressed interest in shooting a film in Israel, a country that he has yet to visit but is very fond of. As the title of the article suggests, the rest of it is preoccupied with proving why Allen shouldn't shoot a movie in Israel. Bloom takes us through various possible film plotlines that could possibly arise in a "Woody Allen in Israel" film. One of the suggestions he makes are a sequel to Manhattan Murder Mystery entitled Jerusalem Murder Mystery which would involve the two protagonists from the previous film taking a trip to Jerusalem where they find that their neighbour has been kidnapped and has fallen in love with a member of Hamas. Two other possible suggestions he makes are Israeli versions of Bullets Over Broadway (Bullets Over Tel-Aviv) and Midnight in Paris (Midnight in Haifa). As Bloom smugly suggests both these film ideas are problematic because, while Broadway and Paris are films that pay sentimental tributes to the art of theatre-making and writing respectively, Israeli theatre and writing is all overtly political and, therefore, not of much interest to the rest of the world. He concludes that Allen probably shouldn't make films in a country he knows nothing about.

Now here's the problem with Bloom's argument: he probably hasn't been to Israel himself. I'm not forming this opinion based on any Zionist agenda. In fact, I consider myself to be apolitical as far as the country's concerned. However having lived there for five years of my young life and having made numerous visits back to the country over the last couple of years, I can personally testify to the fact that religion and politics aren't as central to Israeli life as the media makes them out to be. Yeah okay there is the army but, from what I understand, if you're not on the battlefield, it's really not as bad as it's made out to be. In fact many graduate recruits have claimed to have had the time of their lives serving the army. Then there is the fact that a city such as Tel-Aviv has quite a prolific social scene that really has nothing to do with the country's political or religious issues. Bloom's claim that all Israeli theatre and writing is political is perhaps the biggest tell-tale sign of his ignorance because any idiot can tell you that there is no way a country's art can just be political and nothing else. In recent years I saw a wonderful Israeli play (based on an Israeli book) called My First Sony about the experiences of an eleven year-old Israeli boy growing up in Israel. There were no gestures to any grand political or religious themes. It was simply just a sweet, perceptive slice-of-life and proof that Mr Bloom's argument is grounded in the ridiculous.

I'm well aware that, in his capacity as a journalist, Bloom has done some fine work. I've read snippets of his book Ways of Staying which was written in the wake of the murder of his friend Brett Goldin and cousin Richard Bloom in 2006. The book is a memoir which deals with his crime and political related experiences in South Africa, prompting an exploration of the role of white people in South African society. What I read was well written but, like most of Bloom's journalism, it's quite angry writing. The problem with anger is that it leads to ignorance and such is the case with this article. The Israel Bloom presents us with here is one that has been formulated via his own political beliefs. He's not going to make any visits or do any other research into the kind of country that lies beyond its religious and political affiliations because that does damage to his angry street-cred if he actually finds something positive. He goes on in the article to state if Allen were to make a film in Israel, it would be "a slap in the face to Israeli directors who are currently making brave and important movies about their homeland". Predictably the movies he mentions are heavily political or at least correlate with political ideals. The fact of the matter is that the bravest Israeli films are those that aren't actually about war. I'm talking about the films that, like My First Sony, are just a portrait of what it is to live a personal/ social life in Israel, one that is independent from all usual stereotypes associated with the country. Unfortunately we only get to see these kinds of films once a year at the Israeli film festival.

The great thing about a director like Allen making a film in Israel is that it could lead to an unearthing of more of these kind of 'slice-of life' films. Allen is a master at telling wonderfully simple and quirky stories and the cities in his movies take on a very different appeal when they have been 'Alleninised'. Just think of how Allen's films have enhanced the images of New York, Paris, Barcelona and London. It would be fascinating to see what he could do with Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem or Haifa. With the wonderful crop of actors he has at his disposal, Allen could even challenge the simple-minded opinion that an Israeli movie has to have predominantly Jewish characters. I don't see any Israeli citizens objecting to having the likes of Penelope Cruz,  Owen Wilson and Scarlett Johanssen walking amongst them, playing out love stories that aren't in fact about marrying into the right Jewish family or families. Now that would be ground-breaking cinema, even if it is from a director that really knows nothing about Israel.

Source for Photo 1: http://www.startyournovel.com/2012/01/what-can-woody-allen-teach-you-about.html

Source for Photo 2: http://standupportal.tumblr.com/post/27054890142/woody-allen