June 20, 2007
Evening Theater Islaeli Film "Close to Home" and Talk Session
On June 19, close to 30 Waseda students gathered in front of the movie projector at the ICC to watch Close to Home (Karov la bait), an award-winning film at Israeli Film Festival of 2007. Even though this film alone would meet the standards of time-well-spent of even the most refined movie-goers, this evening at the ICC brought so much more. To introduce the film and lead a discussion about its contents, the ICC welcomed Dr Alexander Bukh, Visiting Researcher at the Graduate School of Political Science, a native of Russia who spent much of his childhood living in Israel.
The film takes viewers into the streets of Jerusalem, and into the lives of two young Israeli women. These two friends Smadar and Mirit, are drafted into the Israeli army at the age of 18 and trained to search for potential suicide bombers.
Dr. Alexander Bukh answering questions in perfect English and Japanese
Time to begin the ICC's Evening Theater!
Participants had the chance to frankly ask many questions
In general, the film is a coming-of-age story, as the two have to find a way to manage their own friendship and personal lives, something all college student viewers could relate to. But the fact that they are doing this in an environment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is what makes the lives of Smadar and Mirit unique. It is this particular context, introduced 30 minutes into the film with a deadly explosion on an otherwise peaceful street and casual searches and detainment of Arab citizens conducted by the heroines, that grips viewers and will not let go until well after the film ends.
Dr Bukh, who spoke in both English and Japanese, gave a 10 minute explanation of the current situation in Israel and occupied Palestine. The film, which runs at 99 minutes, was shown in the original Hebrew with English subtitles.
After the film, Dr Bukh led a question-and-answer session that lasted almost as long as the film itself, far exceeding the planned time slot. Viewers having been exposed to such a realistic appraisal of the situation in this part of the Middle East were so moved by the film's content and quality of presentation that they remained glued to their seats, waiting to share their impressions with others and to ask Dr Bukh a question. Initial questions were about the movie itself, but they gradually moved into the territory of current events. In this regard, the film seemed all the more timely, as students had watched news of the Gaza Strip being taken over by the Hamas movement just few days prior to the screening..
Dr Bukh was very patient and generous with his time, translating every question into either English or Japanese, and giving two full responses so that every audience member could experience the discussion in its entirety. He also volunteered information about his personal experiences and opinions that made the discussion all the more valuable. Everyone at the ICC learned a tremendous amount from this great movie and this most courteous of presenters. Thank you to Alexander Bukh, and to the attentive audience members.
