FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Mike Isaacson This is a truly great film, perhaps the first Israeli film to enter that category. It is, at once, funny and sad, raucous and sensitive. It beautifully encapsulates the bizarre realities of life in modern Israel, and vividly captures the many moods and faces of Tel-Aviv. Woody Allen would have been proud, even in his heyday, to have produced such a humorous and moving piece. And the acting is just terrific.I am quite frankly amazed that 3 people found Gadi I's comments ("A nice movie! nothing more") helpful. I cannot comprehend why he finds the Nadav character to be "negative" for "peeking at his aunt" - Anat Zorer is drop-dead gorgeous, and if I had had an aunt who looked like that when I was a post-pubescent teenager, I wouldn't have been able to STOP "peeking" at her! To say that the movie is "just not that good" beggars belief.Whether you are Israeli or not - and even if you have never been to Israel - if you haven't seen this movie, what are you waiting for?!

noralee "Nina's Tragedies (Ha-Asonot Shel Nina)" is a charming mix of genres.It's a coming of age story of a young teen boy (played very age appropriately with wide-eyed naiveté by Aviv Elkabeth) who acutely observes his dysfunctional family and their friends without really comprehending their adult emotions.It's also a sophisticated urban comedy about artists and intellectuals that we are more used to seeing in movies set in Paris or New York, including a fashion designer, a book editor, photographer, sculptor and nudist performance artist.The casual fillips that make us know they live in Tel Aviv add unique ramifications, as one character is killed while serving in the Army reserves (which for non-Israelis gives the film a post-9/11 overlay) and another gets caught up in ecstatic Orthodox Judaism.It also capitalizes on unusual twist of fate relationships, as portrayed in such movies as "Next Stop Wonderland" where we think we are watching magic realism but it turns out to be grounded in coincidence.The boy's desperate crush on his beautiful aunt is the mechanism to link the stories, as his voyeurism becomes a metaphor for the viewer and for artists in general, almost a bit too preciously as the boy is, as in most every such film, a budding writer.The film combines cheerfully earthy and frank sexuality with intense romantic longing, so it is a much more ironic view of grief than the Israeli film "Broken Wings (Knafayim Shvurot)" that was released in the U.S. last year. There's a long kiss that matches TV's most sensual kiss of the season in "Lost" with beautiful cinematography of temporary fulfillment. The primarily night-time cinematography is lovely.The acting is wonderful, particularly Ayelet Zurer as the strikingly lovely aunt who has intense chemistry in contrast with the solidity of craggy-faced Alon Abutbul. Anat Waxman makes the quirky mother a real person, not a silly joke. The concluding coda seems too much wishful thinking, even if it is emotionally satisfying.The credits are not translated into English and many of the subtitles are white on white.

chktychyna I just saw this at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and loved it. It didn't feel like most movies I've seen lately. It didn't try to make the main character change for the better. It accepted all the flaws and moved on, focusing on the story. I loved all the connections and the fact that it's advertised to be "a very sad comedy" is exactly right. it is hilarious at some parts, and you want to cry at others, but it works. it's real. i loved it. beautiful cinematography and acting. Another thing i liked about the movie was it was genuinely from a little boy's point of view. when he has the dream with the man's voice becoming a telephone ring, that was priceless and clearly something that a little child would dream because it would be stuck in their heads. great movie. see it :)

keith-283 A lonely, bookish 14 year old boy, Nadav is infatuated with his Aunt Nina, his mother's younger sister. When her husband is killed in a terrorist attack only a couple of months after their marriage, Nina is devastated. Fearing the worst, Nadav is sent by his mother to be with her. So begins 'the happiest days of his life, so far.'The problem is that Nadav, in his innocence and naivety, believes this to be the beginning of something much more. Nina herself is oblivious to this, seeing only a loving nephew and young boy. Seen through Nadav's eyes, we witness the slightly bizarre reality of the world around him – Nina coming to terms with her grief, his parents dealing with their separation and his father's illness, his best friend (Menachem – a much older man) dealing with his budding relationship with Galina.While under-stated, Nina's Tragedies is a genuine mix of comedy, pathos, anger and sadness (but thankfully avoiding melodramatic pitfalls), has fully-rounded characters, a tight script and a uniformly excellent cast. It is understandable why the film won eleven Israeli Film Awards in 2003 (including Best Feature).