Photo: Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen's Jellyfish
Jellyfish won the Camera d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and it's not hard to see why. The film starts with a choreographed tracking shot that follows characters through the labyrinthine dance floor of an Israeli wedding party, a move that announces the chops of its directors from the get-go. Newcomers Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen are schooled in the art-film formula, from the meta-narrative of Short Cuts to the use of poetic voiceover. Every pop song, facial expression, and camera angle is ostensibly meant to signify something important, but either you'd have to know Tel Aviv to appreciate what Keret and Shira are saying, or—more likely—everything they're saying has been said before and better. Paul Schrodt
Jellyfish won the Camera d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and it's not hard to see why. The film starts with a choreographed tracking shot that follows characters through the labyrinthine dance floor of an Israeli wedding party, a move that announces the chops of its directors from the get-go. Newcomers Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen are schooled in the art-film formula, from the meta-narrative of Short Cuts to the use of poetic voiceover. Every pop song, facial expression, and camera angle is ostensibly meant to signify something important, but either you'd have to know Tel Aviv to appreciate what Keret and Shira are saying, or—more likely—everything they're saying has been said before and better. Paul Schrodt
