Red Cow (film)

Red Cow (Hebrew: פרה אדומה‎; Pa-ra A-du-ma) is a 2018 Israeli independent drama film, directed and written by Tsivia Barkai Yacov. The film premiered at the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival, and won the Best Israeli Film and Best Debut Film awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

Red Cow
פרה אדומה
Directed byTsivia Barkai Yacov
Produced byItai
Screenplay byTsivia Barkai Yacov
Music byKarny Postal
CinematographyBoaz Yehonatan Yaakov
Release date
  • February 18, 2018 (2018-02-18) (Berlin International Film Festival)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryIsrael
LanguageHebrew

Plot synopsis

Benni (Avigail Kovari) is a 17 year old who lives with her father, Yehoshua (Gal Toren), in Silwan, an illegal settlement in East Jerusalem. When a red heifer is born, Yehoshua sees it as a sign of the coming of the Third Temple. Benni is charged with caring for the heifer. When she falls in love with Yael (Moran Rosenblatt), a national service teacher, the close relationship between Benni and Yehoshua begins to crack. As tensions rise, Benni is determined to secure a future for Yael and her.

Cast
Name Character About
Avigail Kovari Benni 17 year old religious girl
Gal Toren Yehoshua Benni's father, far-right messianic fundamentalist
Moran Rosenblatt Yael National service teacher

Production

The film is Barkai Yacov's directorial debut.[1] In an interview, Barkai Yacov said that the movie was highly personal: She grew up religious, in Beit El, one of the first West Bank settlements, and had a relationship with another young woman in her teens. "The film’s geography, plot and the emotions of its characters are all close to me," she said.[2]

Red Cow was produced by Itai Tamir and received funding from the New Fund for Film and Television and the Israel Film Fund.[3]

Reception
Israel

Daily newspaper ynet critic Shmulik Duvdevani commended the film for providing a glimpse of an area of Israeli life that is seldom seen in the arts – the religious settlements in the West Bank. He opined, however, that the lesbian story line diminished the film and made it somewhat "expected".[4] Haaretz critic Nirit Enderman gave the film three out of five stars. She wrote that the film is "refreshing" in that it provides representation to two under-represented groups – lesbians and settlers – but also felt that the youth LGBT romance did not fit in well with the rest of the highly-political film.[5]

International

In the Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Mintzer found the political aspects of the film downplayed, and the LGBT storyline integral to the drama: "Procuring fine performances from her three leads, Yacov keeps the drama intimate while hinting at the greater issues raised by men like Yehoshua who believe Israel to be a strictly Jewish state, and who are prepared to live in the heart of Palestinian territory in order to prove their point."[1] Sara Ward, in Screen Daily, praised the actors and the cinematography: "Red Cow... moves between the use of walls, fences and shadows to stress the boundaries surrounding its protagonist, and mirroring her restless fervour in its jittery handheld camerawork. Paired with just the right mood — urgent in tone yet measured in pace — the film vibrates with disarming authenticity as a result."[6]

Awards
Year Award Category Nominee Result Notes
2018 Berlin International Film Festival Generation Red Cow Nominated [7]
Ophir Awards Best Actor Gal Toren Nominated [8]
Best Supporting Actress Moran Rosenblatt Nominated
Best Original Soundtrack Karny Postal Nominated
Filmography Boaz Yehonatan Yaakov Nominated
Jerusalem Film Festival Best Israeli Feature Red Cow Won [9]
Directorial Debut Tsivia Barkai Yacov Won
Best Actress Avigail Kovari Won
Tokyo International Film Festival Panorama Red Cow Nominated [10]
India International Film Festival World Film Red Cow Nominated [11]

See also

References
  1. Mintzer, Jordan (February 26, 2018). "'Red Cow' ('Para Aduma'): Film Review | Berlin 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  2. Joseph, Anne (19 November 2018). "'Red Cow' portrays teenage lesbian love in the heart of Jewish East Jerusalem". Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  3. "פרה אדומה". Israel Film Fund (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  4. שמוליק דובדבני (January 15, 2019). "ביקורת סרט - "פרה אדומה": מבט חדש על ההתנחלויות". ynet. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  5. נירית אנדרמן (July 31, 2018). ""פרה אדומה": סוף סוף סרט של במאית בפסטיבל ירושלים". Haaretz. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. Ward, Sara. "'Red Cow': Berlinale Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  7. נירית אנדרמן (January 21, 2018). "הסרטים הישראלים "פרה אדומה" ו"הנעלם" ישתתפו בפסטיבל ברלין". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  8. "פרסי אופיר 2018, הפתעה: "האופה מברלין" הוא הזוכה הגדול". 13 News (in Hebrew). September 6, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  9. "פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים 2018 גאה להכריז על הזוכים". פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים (in Hebrew). 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  10. "World Focus: Red Cow". 31st Tokyo International Film Festival, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  11. "Israel to be the Country of Focus at IFFI Goa". Consulate General of Israel In Mumbai. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
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