Bourekas film

Bourekas films ( he, סרטי בורקס) were a genre of Israeli-made comic melodrama films popular in Israel in the 1960s and 1970s.

History

''Haaretz'' film critic Uri Klein describes Bourekas films as a "peculiarly Israeli genre of comic melodramas or tearjerkers... based on ethnic stereotypes". They were "home-grown farces and melodramas that provided escapist entertainment during a tense period in Israeli history".
The term is said to have been coined by the Israeli film director Boaz Davidson, the creator of several such films, as a play-on-words on the "Spaghetti Western" genre, known as such because that particular Western subgenre was produced in Italy. Bourekas are a popular food in Israeli cuisine.

Although Bourekas films were some of the most successful in the box office, they typically received terrible reviews from critics. They were cited as "low-brow" and "vulgar", with great concern as to this genre of film representing the Israeli people abroad. In critiquing ''Sallah Shabbati'' Biltzki in ''Al HaMishmar'' said, "Because parties in Israel are presented not only in the distorted mirror of a distorted humor but also in the ugly mirror of the image of public and organizational life...One has to think twice if such a film should represent us abroad".

At the end of the 1970s, the popularity of the Bourekas film declined. In the 1980s, Israeli films became more politically charged and began to address controversial topics. Nowadays many of the Bourekas films have gained cult status in Israel.

Themes

The main theme in most Bourekas films is the conflict between ethnic cultures in Israel, in particular between the Mizrahi Jews and the Ashkenazi Jews, and in colonialist terms, between the "third world" (Mizrahi) and the "first world" (Ashkenazic). Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2005)
"''Abba, why was Professor Higgins trying to teach Eliza to speak like our cleaning lady?'': Mizrahim, Ashkenazim, Prescriptivism and the Real Sounds of the Israeli Language"
'' Australian Journal of Jewish Studies'' 19, pp. 210-231. The protagonist is usually a Mizrahi Jewish man, almost always poor, canny and with street smarts, who comes into conflict with the institutions of the state or figures of Ashkenazi origin—mostly portrayed as rich, conceited, stuck-up, cold-hearted and alienated. In many of these films, actors imitate different Hebrew accents, especially that of Jews originating from Morocco, Persia, and Poland. They employ slapstick humour, alternative identities and a combination of comedy and melodrama.

Zuckermann (2005) argues that although "burekas films like ''snúker'' (Boaz Davidson 1975) and ''khakhám gamliél'' (Joel Silberg 1974) are regarded by many as the epitome of mizrahi culture, heyare hybridic and modelled upon Ashkenazic ''shtetl'' life as in ''kúni lémel'' and ''shtétl kabtsíel'' in Méndele Móykher Sfórim's ''beémek habakhá''."

In a paper entitled "A Shtetl in Disguise: Israeli Bourekas Films and their Origins in Classical Yiddish Literature", Rami Kimchi claims that the portrayal of Israeli Mizrahi communities in these films bears a strong resemblance to the portrayal of the 19th century East European shtetl by classic Yiddish writers.A Shtetl in Disguise, Rami Kimchi
/ref> Kimchi attributes the commercial success of these films to their "hybridity", i.e. they were Israeli/Mizrahi and Diasporic/Ashkenazi at one and the same time, thereby satisfying the political, sociological, and psychological needs of both Mizrahi and Ashkenazi audiences in Israel. He believes eleven films produced between 1964 and 1977 make up the corpus of the genre.

Actors and directors

Bourekas films were highly successful in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s, but were also criticized for being shallow. Some of the main actors and directors were:

* Ze'ev Revach: an actor and director who participated in many popular Bourekas film comedies such as ''Hagiga B'Snuker'' (1975), ''Charlie Ve'hetzi'' (1974), ''Rak Hayom'' (1976), ''Gonev Mi'ganav Patoor'' (1977), ''Ta'ut Bamispar'' (1979), ''Ha-Muvtal Batito'' (1987), ''Lo La'alot Yoter'' (1979), ''Sapar Nashim'' (1984), ''Pa'amaim Buskila'' (1998), and more. Revach eventually became the person which is most identified with the Bourekas films and continued to create those films until the end of the 1980s.
* George Ovadiah: a director who created many melodramas which were influenced (and at times copied) from the Turkish cinema. The most prominent of his films are : ''Ariana'' (1971), ''Nurit'' (1972), ''Sarit'' (1974), '' West Side Girl'' (1979), and more. Obadiah also created comedies like ''Nahtche V'Hageneral'' (1972), ''Fishke Bemilu'im'' (1971) and ''Koreyim Li Shmil'' (1973).
* Yehuda Barkan: an actor and director who participated in many Bourekas films such as '' Lupo'' (1970) and ''Lupo B'New York'' (1976), '' Katz V'Carasso'' (1971), ''Charlie Ve'hetzi'' (1974), ''Hagiga B'Snuker'' (1975), ''Bo Nefotzetz Million'' (1977) and more. Barkan also played in the 1980s ''Abba Ganuv'' film series and directed them.
* Boaz Davidson: a director of many Bourekas film comedies such as ''Charlie Ve'hetzi'' (1974), ''Hagiga B'Snuker'' (1975), ''Mishpahat Tzan'ani'' (1976), and ''Lupo B'New York'' (1976). His films ''Charlie Ve'hetzi'' and ''Hagiga B'Snuker'' had a 'revival' in the 1990s and a status of Israeli cult film status.
* Yosef Shiloach: Played in several Bourekas films, particularly in the role of the grotesque "Ashkenazi" character.
*Menahem Golan: a director and producer of many fiscally successful Bourekas films such as ''Fortuna'' (1966), ''My Margo'' (1969), '' Lupo'' (1970), ''Queen of the Road (Malkat haKvish)'' and ''The Contract''Meir Schnitzer, Israeli Cinema: Facts/ Plots/ Directors / Opinions, Kinneret Publishing House, 1994. P. 118. (both 1971).
* Haim Topol: Starred in ''Sallah Shabati'' (1965) before his breakout Golden Globe-winning role in the 1971 film adaption of ''Fiddler on the Roof''.

Subgenres

"Gefilte fish" films, also known as "bourekas for Ashkenazim", are a marginal group of Bourekas films that feature Ashkenazi protagonists and ghetto folklore. Some films in this subgenre include:

:*''Two Kuni Lemels'', 1966 (Israel Beker)
:* '' Lupo'', 1970 (Golan)
:* ''Kuni Lemel in Tel Aviv'' (1976) (Joel Silberg)
:* ''Lupo in New York'' (1976) (Davidson)
:* ''Hershele'', 1977 (Joel Silberg)
:* ''Marriage Tel Aviv Style'', 1980 (Joel Silberg)
:* ''Aunt Klara (HaDoda Klara)'', 1977 (Avraham Hefner)

Notable films

Several prominent Bourekas films are listed below in chronological order of production.

* ''Sallah Shabbati'' (1964)—directed by Kishon and the first Israeli film to be nominated for an Academy Award"Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" Wins Foreign Language Film: 1965 Oscars
/ref>
* ''Fortuna'' (1966)—directed by Menahem Golan
* ''Moishe Vintelator'' (1966)—directed by Uri Zohar
* ''999 Aliza Misrahi'' (1967)—directed by Menahem Golan
* ''Two Kuni Lemels'' (1966)—directed by Israel Beker
* ''Our Neighborhood (HaShkhuna Shelanu)'' (1968)—directed by Uri Zohar
* ''My Margo'' (1969)—directed by Menahem Golan
* ''Queen of the Road (Malkat haKvish)'' (1971)
* ''The Contract'' (1971)—directed by Menahem Golan
* ''Salomonico'' (1972)
* ''Ha-Meshahnei'a Ba'am'' (1973)
* ''Haham Gamliel'' (1973)
* ''Kazablan'' (1974)—a story of a young Mizrahi man who falls in love with an Ashkenazi girl, starring Yehoram Gaon
* ''Hagiga B'Snuker'' (1975)
* ''Yi'ihiyeh Tov Salmonico'' (1975)—with Reuven Bar-Yotam

See also

*Israeli culture
*Israeli cinema
*Cannon Films

References

{{Film genres

Film genres
Lists of Israeli films
1960s in film
1970s in film