The World is Funny

Title: The World is Funny

Year: 2012

By Nate Feldman

Story: Meron, Yardena, and Golan are estranged siblings from Tiberias, Israel with their own unique circumstances.  Meron's son Nessi is waking up from a coma he has been in for nine years.  Yardena, a bereaved mother, is inexplicably pregnant according to her.  Golan is taking care of Natasha, his lover who is sick with cancer.  The story goes back and forth between the three's unique family situations.  

Meanwhile, there is a writing group that meets to tell their own unique stories as an idea for a book.  One of the attendees is Zefat, a girl who cleans people's houses in town and hears their stories.  Eventually, she falls for Nessi and brings him to the meetings.  

Opinion: This movie is interesting in a few ways.  First of all, it is quite funny in a lot of scenes.  So, even though the subject matters are quite serious, the audience should laugh quite often.  After all, it is called "The World is Funny," and many parts of the film are.

It also gives a window into a different side of Israel most of the international world doesn't see (the conflict with the Palestinians is not brought up in this story).  An important backdrop to the film is the influence of HaGashah HaHiver comedy troupe on Israeli society.  For those unfamiliar, this was a comedy group with three members who are one of the most influential entertainers in Israeli history.  Shaike, one of the group, is an important character in this movie.

I'd overall give this film four stars out of five for its humor and the insights it gave me into Israeli society.