SummarySalam, an inexperienced young Palestinian man, becomes a writer on a popular soap opera after a chance meeting with an Israeli soldier. His creative career is on the rise - until the soldier and the show's financial backers disagree about how the show should end, and Salam is caught in the middle.
Directed By:Sameh Zoabi
Written By:Dan Kleinman, Sameh Zoabi, Ricardo Hernández Anzola
Tel Aviv on Fire
Metascore
Generally Favorable
70
User score
Generally Favorable
7.0
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
81% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
19% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Aug 1, 2019
83
Tel Aviv on Fire is a summer gem unlike any other you will see this year–an invitation to laugh at a world in decline.
Aug 7, 2019
75
Director Sameh Zoabi relies on the old adage that we have more in common than not, but it’s a lesson that bears repeating — particularly when laughs come with it.
Aug 1, 2019
75
Nashef is a sombre Roberto Benigni in his role as a sincere bumbler, defusing situational bombs with hummus-based subterfuge and desperate diplomacy. This satire in Hebrew and Arabic is an answer in an allegorical and comical way, about a mad circumstance and a man in the middle of it. A tense and painful backdrop, sure, but there’s no stick up Zoabi’s butt, just an olive branch.
Jul 29, 2019
75
A determinedly easygoing comedy about the Israeli-Palestinian divide, Tel Aviv on Fire gets by on the low-keyed assurance of its cast and its medium-grade amusements.
Aug 1, 2019
70
The story risks being overwhelmed along with its protagonist — pulled apart by too many competing arcs that collide in ways that aren’t always graceful. But on the other hand, too neat a movie might risk inauthenticity.
Aug 1, 2019
60
Tel Aviv on Fire, like the soap opera that shares its name, doesn't attempt to grapple with the complexities of the conflict. "Is there nothing between bombs and surrender?" it asks, pleading for moderation. Moderation gets you a pleasant-enough comedy. But not much more.
Jul 30, 2019
50
Despite its loaded premise, Tel Aviv On Fire rarely sparks more than mild amusement.
User score
Generally Favorable
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Aug 3, 2019
7
A potentially funny premise that, regrettably, doesn't rise to the level of that potential. Had it been treated more as a campy screwball romp instead of a comparatively safe satire overloaded with overly talky quasi-philosophical sequences that water down its innate narrative, this could have been a much, much better film. The picture's tepid, kid gloves handling of its material not only squanders whatever inherent zaniness it had to work with, but it also unwittingly blunts the impact of the underlying sociopolitical commentary that its satirical punchline was ultimately designed to deliver. While modestly amusing, this offering unfortunately missed an excellent opportunity to present a refreshingly different, completely irreverent, totally unexpected take on a subject that has typically been addressed with relentlessly serious heavy-handedness -- and that might be better for everyone with a little lightening up, both on and off the screen.
Oct 17, 2019
6
(Mauro Lanari)
Brave or reckless in its amused and funny approach to a biblical scale conflict? Brave, and its humorous defuse is effective.
Production Company:
- Samsa Film
- Lama Films
- TS Productions
- Artémis Productions
- BE TV
- Gesher Multicultural Film Fund
- Israeli Film Fund
- Luxembourg Film Fund
- Philophon
- Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF)
- Shelter Prod
- VOO
Release Date:Aug 2, 2019
Duration:1 h 40 m
Tagline:The Comedy That Crosses Borders and Breaks Boundaries
Awards
Awards of the Israeli Film Academy
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Venice Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
