US Films:
- Above and Beyond – how airmen from around the world helped launch Israel’s Air Force, for free on Roku and Tubi, $$ on Amazon Prime and AppleTV
- Cast a Giant Shadow – the late Kirk Douglas plays “Mickey” Marcus helping launch the nation of Israel, for $$ on Amazon Prime and Apple TV
- Raid on Entebbe – the classic story, whose anniversary is coming up in a couple of months, free on Amazon Prime
- We Shall Not Die Now –From Blackbird Pictures, in association with the US Holocaust Museum and the Claude Lanzmann “Shoah” Collection, We Shall Not Die Now chronicles the Holocaust, when, between 1939 and 1945, over six million Jews and millions of others were systematically murdered by the Nazis. On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaHBB7b1VCU&feature=youtu.be
Israeli Cinema:
- Zero Motivation – You may think, another movie about the Israel army? but this movie, winner of the best narrative at the Tribeca Film Festival, shows a unique side of the IDF. A series of events describe the painfully boring everyday life of young female soldiers serving at the Human Resources Department in a remote desert base, counting down the minutes until they can return to civilian life. This Israeli box-office hit shows a hilarious, intelligent, edgy and realistic side of the Israeli army, bound to make you laugh.
Available for $$ on Amazon Prime.
- A Borrowed Identity, also called Dancing Arabs – This 2014 movie was adapted from a book called Dancing Arab, describing the struggle of an Arab-Israeli boy who is sent to a prestigious boarding school in Jerusalem, where he struggles to adapt to the culture and tries to figure his own identity out. The movie is an emotionally sweeping story about questions of identity every teenager experiences, enhanced by the complexity of the Israel-Arab conflict.
Available for $$ on Amazon Prime.
- Past Life – This 2017 movie is set in Israel in 1977 and follows tw0 Israeli sisters as they begin a quest to unveil the dark past of their father’s life during World War II, after discovering that he has been hiding a secret from them. The movie discusses the Holocaust from a new point of view, examining the deeds of survivors and the effect the trauma had on Jewish families and culture.
Available for free on AmazonPrime.
- Bethlehem – There is never a shortage of heart-wrenching movies about the Middle Eastern conflict, yet this one, which describes a dangerous relationship between a trusting Shin Bet officer and a confused Palestinian teenager, won the population over for its relative impartiality and outlook on the frustrating situation. Having won six Ophir Awards, the drama was selected as the Israeli entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards after winning, but it eventually didn’t make the cut.
Available for $$ on Amazon Prime and AppleTV.
- A Matter of Size – This 2009 comedy tells the tale of a group of overweight people from the Israeli city of Ramla who are trying to accept themselves as they are by trying to join the world of sumo, where fat people are admired, rather than mocked and urged to lose weight. Anyone can relate to this entertaining story, delivered by wonderfully funny actors. The movie was screened in many film festivals around the world, in addition to winning three Ophir Awards.
Available for $$ on Vimeo
- Big Bad Wolves – The official selection of 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, Big Bad Wolves is an Israeli horror thriller and black comedy declared by Quentin Tarantino to be the best film of 2013. The plotline takes place after a little girl is abducted and murdered and is centred around three men, her father, who is out for revenge, a police officer, who has neglected the boundaries of law and the main suspect, a religious studies teacher.
Available for $$ on Amazon Prime and AppleTV
- Working Woman – Orna’s (Ben-Shlush) life is as busy as it is tough. Her husband, Ofer (Cohen) has opened a restaurant that is not doing very well financially. She works in real estate but is finding her job hard to maintain as the mother of three children. Her talents soon begin to grow as she works with a manger Benny (Noy) who may be interested in her for more than just her skills. The difficulties of women trying to break into the workforce are explored in this Israeli drama.
Available for $$ on Amazon Prime and AppleTV.
- The Cakemaker – Thomas, a young German baker, is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli married man who has frequent business visits in Berlin. When Oren dies in a car crash in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem seeking for answers regarding his death. Under a fabricated identity, Thomas infiltrates the life of Anat, his lover’s newly widowed wife, who owns a small Café in downtown Jerusalem.
Available for free on Netflix.
- Foxtrot – An Israeli family's life is turned upside down when they're told their soldier son has died. What follows is the account of their son's fate, which appears to be quite different... a gorgeously shot, highly intelligent movie about fate, told in three chapters.
Available for $$ on Amazon Prime and AppleTV.
- Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem – A woman, after being in a bland marriage for twenty years, appeals to her husband for a required divorce document in front of a court but the demand seems far more daunting than what she had imagined it to be.
Available for $$ on Amazon Prime and AppleTV.
- Out in the Dark – A beautiful drama based on a love story of two boys from opposite sides of a conflict; One being from Israel and the other from Palestine.
Available for $$ on VUDU and AppleTV.
- The Farewell Party (search the name: Mita Tova)– In a retirement home when an old terminally ill patient decides not to succumb to a death by disease his friends make a machine for Euthanasia but soon the rumors about the machine start circling putting them all in jeopardy.
Available for free on Amazon Prime.
- The Kindergarten Teacher – After discovering an exceptional talent of poetry in a five year old kid, a kindergarten teacher takes the responsibility to protect his talent at any cost, against any objection or implication from anyone.
Available for free on VUDU
- The Accountant of Auschwitz - Decades after WWII, a former SS officer stands trial in his native Germany after being charged for his complicity in the murder of Jews at Auschwitz. Available for free on Netflix.
