David O'ConnellPhobidilia @ The Israeli Film Festival
August 16th 2010 06:31
A tragic, cautionary tale of our over-reliance on means of interaction with the world that eschew actual human contact, Phobidilia (2009) is the debut of the Paz brothers, Doron and Yoav. A young man and 'hero' of the piece, Regev (Ofer Shechter), exists in a self-enclosed ‘kingdom’ within his apartment. He never ventures outside, with limitless access to all the stimulation he requires from cable TV, the internet and a wobbly pile of DVD's. Regev is a cleanliness freak too but as the flash forward that opens the film reveals, the dynamic within his ‘kingdom’ has been irrevocably altered, leading to an implosion that has left his environment in disarray and threatens his existence.
Traveling back in time we see that trouble begins upon receiving notice from his landlord’s mouthpiece, an old man he demeaningly refers to as “Grumps” (Shlomo Bar-Shavit), informing him that the owner wishes to sell up, forcing him to be evicted within a couple of weeks. From the outset, Phobidilia reveals itself as a sparsely populated world, so with such a limited scenario the Paz brothers hone in on the slowly escalating war of attrition that develops between Regev and Grumps in the early going. The old man, a former prisoner of war, insists that engaging him in battle is purest folly. He relates his war-time horror stories and their repurcussions in explicit detail, assuring the young man that “Anne Frank has nothing on me!”
At the same time, Regev is annoyingly distracted by the appearance of a flesh-and-blood female in the form of bored cable-company salesgirl Daniela (Efrat Boimold). We may remain forever perplexed about what Daniela sees in our detached, emotionless hero but she keeps coming back, only to be insultingly spurned when attempting to employ her best move to get him into bed. He assures her that he's progressed beyond that annoying stage of needing three dimensional women to satisfy him physically. He would much rather engage in conversation with paid companion Jessica, footage of whom he’s constantly streaming off her website.
Old Grumps (Shlomo Bar-Shavit) tells Regev (Ofer Shechter) what a wimp Anne Frank really was.
Daniela slowly affects a change in Regev, but with eviction day approaching and Grumps' tactics becoming more drastic, can our hero remain on the straight and narrow long enough to keep his kingdom in order and begin afresh somewhere else?
There are little clues as to how Regev’s predicament began, though he admits to falling prey to anxiety attacks at some stage: “My little phobia led me to idilia”. His condition is utilised as a metaphor for a more inclusive malaise, and the corrupting influence of American culture is raised in blatant ways to address the downward spiral of our hero’s plight. The brothers' main thrust seems to be that such a willful disconnection from the world around us leaves us numb and clawing for sensations that no visual stimuli can ultimately provide.
Shechter's work is solid but Regev mostly remains a blank slate through which few emotional responses can break to the surface. The lively Boimold gives the best performance though her less than credible motivations limit her effectiveness. Is she really so lonely that she would keep returning to try and hook up with a weirdo who never leaves his apartment? Genuine curiosity can only stretch believability of her reasoning so far. As a sobering, instructive tale Phobidilia works effectively at illuminating the very modern characteristics of a young man's disturbing affliction, but as straightforward drama it isn’t always so compelling.
Regev tries to convince Daniela (Efrat Boimold) that he isn't a robot.
The 2010 Israeli Film Festival: Melbourne 17 – 22 August
and Sydney 31 August – 5 September
The official website with full details can be found here.
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Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Cheers Shaun, no problem mate, no harm done whatsoever!
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
having known Israelies, some of whom are in my family, it does not surprise me to see a character as seemingly (outwardly) blank and emotionally immovable, maybe the character is a metaphor for the type of societal enviroment that Israel has created for itself... which in some ways is a kind of psychosis of fear and threat, insular and exclusive.... but I have not seen the film...
cheers
fog
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic