Carmel

In the beginning of his latest film, writer/director Amos Gitai tells audiences that what they are about to see is not a traditional movie, that it’s more like a poem. If he’d taken the analogy a step or two further and provided some footnotes for the average viewer to unlock the mystery of movie, it might have worked better. Gitai mixes fiction and documentary, home movies and surrealistic imagery to trace his family history from the present day back to the Jewish- Roman wars that began in 66 A.D. The journey is fascinating, to a degree, and some of the imagery he puts on the screen seers itself into your mind. The story he is trying to tell, though, or better yet, the point he is trying to make with the film, needs further clarification. Or at least a few more viewings.