The year is 1983 and Yaakov Cohen, the owner of a Jerusalem printing press, is tired from being pushed around. It seems that he was born on the wrong side, with the wrong family name and in a moment's decision he decides to establish a Sephardic-ultra-Orthodox list that will run to the Jerusalem municipality. He gathers two friends, and together they improvise a campaign - no means, no connections, no money, but with much rage, passion and a sense of justice.
When thirteen year old Aharon,is selected for the great honor of carrying the big Torah book around the neighborhood in 'Simchat Torah' celebrations, he feels life is finally about to change for the better. But his selection causes age-old tensions between his parents to surface, and the symbolic happy ritual becomes a life-threatening struggle.
At the age of 13, Yoni is growing up. Fast. But not fast enough for this diminutive young man who is obsessed with getting bigger, taller and stronger. On the eve of his Bar Mitzvah, Yoni has no choice but to “become a man” when he’s faced with the unexpected return of his autistic brother who he has not seen for almost ten years.
A Jewish Moroccan immigrant family living in Israel is nearly destroyed by conflicts resulting from generational differences in this arresting Israeli drama. It begins as Cheli, a successful but emotionally troubled talk show host who has been unable to deal with her traumatic childhood is traveling to attend her father's funeral. She is accompanied by her mentally ill sister Pnina and her adopted estranged daughter. It is a hellish trip and as they travel, flashbacks chronicle their painful youth. Rachel had always wanted to break away from her family's Moroccan heritage and so spent much time trying make herself fit in with her Israeli peers. She was humiliated by her poor, ignorant family. Her father was an overbearing, blindly religious fanatic and their mother was a witch who manipulated the family by casting spells. She feared her mother, and despised her insane sister, to whom she was very cruel.
Just as he is about to go on a date, Obadiah decides to take his barber’s advice and leave his moustache on. En route from the barbershop to seeing his date, he realises that his concerns were, in fact, very much with merit; for in Israel, a moustache is the symbol of the enemy. An endearing little comedy with an absolutely addictive soundtrack, which offers a tongue-in-cheek look at the various facets and manifestations of Israeli racism.
