.Whether we remain a Spartan outpost or burst outward, we can be proud of local cinema and its creations. Even Netflix has realized that some viewers want to watch a bit of good Israeli cinema, and they maintain a small-but-handsome list of Israeli films. We asked our film critic Yael Shuv and editorial staff to dig through the archive, and they returned with nine wonderful local films you can watch on Netflix right now, and pass some time with a sense of local pride. We all need a bit of that right now.

>>רואים אותנו: 9 סרטים ישראלים מומלצים שאסור להחמיץ בנטפליקס

1. Zero Motivation (2014)

Talia Lavie’s army comedy has long become much more than just a film, turning almost instantly into a classic of Israeli military comedy. The successful stage adaptation only cemented its iconic status, and even TV comedies owe it a great deal for its precise military satire – at least of the IDF from twenty years ago. Camp Shizafon has never looked more bleak, and military boredom has never felt so tangible. Six Ophir Awards placed it as the perfect comedy for its time, and even in today’s context, its critique of the IDF still hits hard.

Divided into three stories taking place in a base adjutancy office, where the shredder is the most important weapon, the film follows a miserable soldier who dreams only of daily passes to Tel Aviv (Nelly Tagar in her real breakout role), an exhausted and burnt-out soldier who finds herself in danger (Dana Ivgy), and their overzealous officer who struggles with the responsibility (Shani Klein). The film presents a female perspective on the IDF and breaks more than one sacred cow. Probably the most influential Israeli comedy of the 2000s.
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2. Karaoke (2022)

Moshe Rosenthal’s touching film is a unique and interesting take on the suburban-neighbors genre, telling of a bourgeois couple whose lives have sunk into a comfortable yet barren routine, until new, lively neighbors pull them out of their stagnation – for better or for worse. Meir (Gabay) and Tova (Rita Shukrun, “Orange People”) live in a high-rise in Holon. He’s a teacher on sabbatical, she runs a fashion boutique in the mall at the foot of the building, and it seems that except for their annual trip to Rhodes, they never leave their small radius. A meeting with Itzik Marciano (Lior Ashkenazi), a Miami talent agent who has just moved into the penthouse, turns everything upside down.

Beyond the stellar meeting of two great actors, Rosenthal’s film won four Ophir Awards (two of which went to the on-screen couple) and reveals the sensitivity of the characters just as much as it showcases its careful directing choices. The couple’s development, together and separately, is central. The scene in which Gabay performs a karaoke version of “Ma Hashuv Hayom” (“What’s Important Today”) by Avi Toledano became almost instantly an Israeli cinema classic.
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3. God’s Neighbors (2012)

Meni Yaish’s energetic and entertaining film (he grew up on Van Damme action movies) is one of the most complex, convincing, and challenging portraits of Israeli identity that has lost its way. Yaish found the perfect balance and exact tone (sometimes comic, sometimes dramatic) for the story of three newly religious men from Bat Yam who have appointed themselves God’s bodyguards. Avi (Roy Assaf), Kobi (Gal Friedman), and Yaniv (Itzik Golan) announce themselves in the very first scene by attacking a few young men blasting loud Russian music in the street. The attack is fueled by xenophobia mixed with a primal enthusiasm for displays of violent power.

After settling accounts with the noisy Russians, the three Bratslav thugs harm more “sinners” and also threaten Miri, a secular woman (Rotem Zisman-Cohen) whose clothing doesn’t match their norms. Her defiant presence confuses Avi’s senses and forces him to question himself and his actions. From here unfolds a cautious and beautiful drama of spiritual repair, featuring two rabbis who represent more conciliatory and balanced faces of Judaism. “God’s Neighbors” carries a vital sense of authenticity that rises from its vivid street language, precise dialogue, atmosphere, and terrific acting.
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4. Noodle (2007)

Aside from bear cubs, nothing is sweeter than a little Chinese boy. Consequently, nothing is more heartbreaking than a small, sad Chinese boy. Noodle is such a child, left by his mother for an hour with flight attendant Miri (the wonderful Mili Avital), who then disappears. The presence of the abandoned boy, who brightens with hope every time the phone rings or there’s a knock at the door, forces the emotionally shut-down Miri (twice a war widow) to act. She, her sister Gila (Anat Waxman), their friends, and two charming men (Alon Abutbul and Yiftach Klein) search for a way to return the boy to his lost mother. Oh, and there’s also a cute dog who instantly befriends Noodle, as dogs do.

The script asks us to accept a series of coincidences and not-very-convincing assumptions, such as the character of Mati (Klein), who literally drops from the sky and serves as a plot handyman who helps solve many problems. This also isn’t the first dramedy about a woman who gave up on life until a child stirred her dormant emotions – but Ayelet Menahemi (“Seven Blessings”) is an excellent director. The film’s flow, the lively dynamics among the actors, and the heart-melting child elevate the script, creating a sweet-and-sour result as it should be.
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5. The Band’s Visit (2007)

Eran Kolirin’s film, which won eight Ophir Awards and was later adapted into a Broadway musical, tells the tale of a small Egyptian orchestra that comes to perform in Israel (which wasn’t realistic even then). Due to a misunderstanding at the airport, the orchestra ends up in a lonely desert town in the Negev and must stay until the next day. Not much happens during the night, as the musicians disperse among the townspeople’s homes – some land at a family birthday dinner, one ends up as a fifth wheel on a double date, and another clings to the public phone waiting for a call from the Egyptian embassy.

Their powder-blue uniforms highlight their foreignness in the desert town. This is a small, human film soaked in subtle humor, reminiscent of Czech comedies from the 1960s. Sasson Gabay is superb as Tewfiq, the devoted and reserved orchestra commander, ever-conscious of his representative role and constantly adjusting his uniform unconsciously. Opposite him, Ronit Elkabetz delivers a warm, slightly aggressive yet vulnerable performance as the local diva. Their scenes together – her throwing herself at him, him opening just a narrow window into his inner world—are deeply touching.
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6. Fill the Void (2012)

Rama Burshtein’s debut film, which won seven Ophir Awards (including Best Picture), was created from within the ultra-Orthodox world it portrays, fully accepting the rules and boundaries of that society. At its center is the story of 18-year-old Shira (Hadas Yaron), who lives with her family in the heart of Tel Aviv. Shira wants to be a good daughter and fulfill her mother’s (Irit Sheleg) wish that she marry Yochai (Yiftach Klein), the widower of her older sister Esther. But she also wants to choose a husband for herself. When her mother first proposes the idea of having Shira fill the void Esther left behind, both Yochai and Shira firmly reject it.

From that point, the film beautifully portrays Shira’s emotional journey, and gradually the void fills with longing. The classic conflict between duty and love receives an interesting twist, cultural restraint adds an effective seasoning of forbidden love, and the film overwhelms the senses (aided by meticulous cinematography and lighting). Yaron beautifully shapes Shira’s brave character, frightened mainly by her own desires, earning her the Best Actress Award in Venice.
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7. Broken Wings (2002)

Nir Bergman’s debut film reached a large audience in Israel and abroad despite being a small and truly intimate drama about loss and family, and its emotional impact remains as strong as it was almost twenty-five years ago. In Israel after Rabin’s assassination, the broken family lacking a father figure, struggling to stay afloat, felt like a precise metaphor for the country’s state – and in some ways, remains very relevant today.

Dafna (Orly Zilbershatz, who won the Ophir Award for the role) tries to keep her head above water with four children after the unexpected death of their father. Working long shifts as a midwife, she deals with a daughter who refuses to return to kindergarten, a son testing boundaries, a teenager sinking into nihilism, and an eldest daughter struggling to juggle her personal life with family responsibilities. When one family member is put in danger, the unique connection among the rest is revealed. An essential debut work, and one that immediately became a must-see for Israelis.
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8. Ajami (2009)

Several stories intersect in the Jaffa neighborhood in this film by Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Because of something his cousin did, the life of Omar, a Muslim teen, is threatened by a Bedouin clan from Be’er Sheva. A case of mistaken identity, which leads to the killing of another young man, buys Omar some time – but to be spared, he must pay an exorbitant ransom. Young Malek arrives from Nablus to work in the restaurant of Abu Elias, a Christian. He too needs a large sum to finance his sick mother’s medical treatment in Israel. Both get entangled with a Jewish police officer, Dando (Eran Naim from “My Eyes”), a warm family man whose soldier brother has been missing for some time.

The early chapters present three protagonists’ stories more or less chronologically but full of gaps that create impressions – sometimes misleading – about characters and events. The later chapters return to earlier points in time, providing shocking answers to troubling questions and shifting impressions, sometimes to the point of total reversal. Here is an exceptional combination of harsh, reality-based material and a formal mosaic structure rich in temporal gaps, playing with viewer expectations and creating a chain of shifting reactions. A violent and gripping film, painting a sharp metaphor of Israel’s sociopolitical pressure cooker.
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9. Through the Wall (2016)

Michal (the wonderfully exceptional Noa Koler) became religious and grew close to Bratslav Hasidism. One month before her wedding date, while tasting menu options at Shimi’s (Amos Tamam) wedding hall, her fiancé breaks off the engagement. Michal decides to place her faith in God to find her a groom by the set date, and does not cancel the hall reservation. The romantic comedy is inherently a genre of faith, encouraging us to believe that “the one” will be brought to the heroine’s doorstep by some higher power. By inserting belief in God into the equation, Rama Burshtein (“Fill the Void”) exposes the genre’s roots and reinvents it in the process.

As in countless silly rom-coms, she creates an unlikely plot structure but fills it with rich human content and a trembling yearning for love. The script is a masterwork of precise characterization, sparkling dialogue, and clever construction of surprising dramatic and comic turns. Within the frame of a romantic fantasy, Burshtein creates different degrees of fantasy through which she examines the heroine’s faith in a witty and touching way. It’s a cinematic magic trick that manages to confuse us on the way to the perfect ending, expanding hearts – including those of atheists. The film was adapted into a successful musical at Beit Lessin. The original is far better.
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