Zero Motivation (2014)

Very best movie i ever watch

Truly Dreadful Film

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

In Talya Lavie's film there is a scene where a male soldier tells female conscripts about his recruit training. It was really bad, like the holocaust, he narrates. Why? Because the officers were like the Nazis, he goes on. I'm not a Jew, so if I told you the rest of this holocaust joke, it would be absolutely tasteless. I can't do that. But funny it is, when told by a Jew in Israeli Defense Forces uniform to other soldiers. The humour in this film relies on unlikely and sudden contradictions such as this, which is pretty much the definition of a farce. Some reviewers here have obviously not recognized this genre and have not expected the unexpected which this film delivers in plentiful doses. If you ask a cinema lover about Jewish humour, she or he probably first thinks of Woody Allen telling a joke about God, and why not - but he's told so many of them we're surely ready for some new perspectives. Joseph Cedar's Footnote was a refreshing dark comedy from Israel and Lavie's Zero Motivation is a fine showcase for classical Jewish humour in a fresh setting, the all-female personnel files office of a desert military base. One reviewer thought that the soldier girls are bitching and lack solidarity - to me it seems they are mostly just being argumentative pretty much as a Jew is expected and brought up to be. Another non-Israeli reviewer was shocked by the suicide of a young woman sneaking into the base dressed as a soldier. This is sensitive, of course, but one has to remember the tragicomic context. The biggest fear in the Israeli base is surely an attack by a suicide bomber. Then an outsider penetrates the base using a fake ID - and kills herself but for purely romantic reasons. The Palestinians are present in the film only in hints such as this. The film is based on Talya Lavie's own experiences in the IDF. She must have been bored. But the audience of the film is not. I'm not in the target audience: I'm a 60-year old Nordic male conscience objector and as said not Jewish. Yet I enjoyed the whole thing and think I got most of the jokes right. Could be re-written into an effective theatrical farce.

This is one of the best Israeli films I've seen. I loved the characters and the real portrayal of army life for women. There was one difficult scene about suicide. It was shown in a somewhat humorous manner, but is obviously a serious problem in the IDF as in other armies. I'll just explain this for people who haven't lived in Israel: "The Kirya" is a base located in TLV, and considered an easy service compared with being placed in a remote location. One of the girls wishes she could serve on this base.Just a note to the actors: please create a profile with your pictures, on this site.

i will admit, i'm an Israeli guy and i think that the film industry in my country still has a lot to improve when it comes to quality, to meet with other countries standards. in the last 5-6 years, there has been a huge improvement in film editing. Israeli films used to be about drama and comedy, there almost hasn't been any thrillers or sci-fic but now we get the chance to enjoy new styles like "vals with bashir" which is an academy award winning animated Israeli film, or "bufor" - military thriller ,"big bad wolves" - an amazing high quality horror-drama, all are big budget films.the lately "zero motivation" ('efes be'yahasey enosh' - zero in social skills) is the most entertaining Israeli film i've seen so far. it's about 3-4 IDF female soldiers who work in office of their military base. doing paper work and complains about anything and everything. the film is hilarious from beginning to end. not even one minute that is boring. the acting is superb and the dialog is just natural. the film is a huge box office hit in Israel, on the top of the charts for more than 2 months already, and receiving a 90% positive reviews from critics and regular watchers. to make a long story short, if you are looking for 2 hours of sweet drive, this is the one for you. 10 out of 10.

How anyone could not enjoy *Efes Yachasei Enosh* is beyond me. The incomparable Dana Ivgy (Zohar) with her zinger lines and equally zing-y delivery, and the actress who portrays Irena (why is she not credited?) carry this zany, slightly dark IDF comedy.I subtracted one star from 10 because I found it unrealistic that a shot could be fired on an IDF base and no one comes running.Other than that, the plot is just complex enough with just enough loops to keep it moving, yet not confusing; and the characters were thoroughly differentiated, again simplifying things for the viewer.The story treats contemporary issues such as date rape, sadistic commanders, and the plight of women soldiers assigned to unchallenging administrative jobs. I recommend Zero Motivation highly.*By the way, I'd translate *yachasei enosh* יחסי אנוש as "people skills", but "motivation" works, as this crowd lacks both!