Image of Victory
Hebrewתמונת הניצחון
Directed byAvi Nesher
Written byAvi Nesher
Produced byEhud Bleiberg
Elad Gavish (executive)
Starring
  • Joy Reiger
  • Amir Khoury
  • Ala Dakka
CinematographyAmit Yasur
Edited byIsaac Sehayek
Music byTom Oren
Production
companies
Bleiberg Entertainment and United King Films
Release date
  • 23 December 2021 (2021-12-23) (Israel)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryIsrael
Languages


Image of Victory (Hebrew: תמונת הניצחון) is a 2021 Israeli film directed by Avi Nesher. The film includes a reenactment of the battle and subsequent loss of Kibbutz Nitzanim during Israel’s War of Independence and is based on real events.[1][2][3]

The film was nominated for fifteen categories in the 2021 Ophir Awards and won three of them: Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, and Best Costume Design.[4]

Plot

The story takes place between late 1947 and June 1948, and focuses mainly on the days before the Battle of Nitzanim and on the battle itself (7 June 1948), at the end of which Nitzanim is conquered by the Egyptian forces and the surviving defenders are taken prisoners.

A young Egyptian journalist, Hassanin (Amir Khoury), accompanies an Egyptian volunteer fighting force heading to aid the Palestinian Arabs, as a director of a propaganda film to capture an "image of victory" of the Egyptian Army. They set camp the foot of the kibbutz within which the members, together with a platoon of the Givati Brigade, prepare to defend.

Cast

Source:[5]

Actor Name Character Name Character Background
Joy Reiger Mira Ben-Ari[6] Nitzanim kibbutz member
Amir Khoury Hassanin Egyptian journalist sent to capture an "image of victory" for the Egyptian side
Ala Dakka Khalif Commander of the Egyptian force
Eliana Tidhar Ada Kibbutz member, immigrant from Argentina, Hadassa's cousin, works in the kibbutz's children's house
Tom Avni Yareakh Bleiberg Kibbutz member, dairy farmer
Meshi Kleinstein Hadassa Kibbutz member, immigrant from Argentina, Ada's cousin
Elisha Banai Elyakim Ben Ari Kibbutz member, Mira's ex-partner
Netta Roth Naomi Kibbutz member
Elad Levi Khaim "J'amous" (Buffalo) Soldier in the Israeli force
Yadin Gellman Avraham Schwarzstein Commander of the Israeli force
Gil Cohen Khabani Soldier in the Israeli force
Adam Gabay Ben Gigi Sergeant of the Israeli force
Amit Moresht "Kilometer" Soldier in the Israeli force
Nir Knaan Zigi Kibbutz member, immigrant from Germany, pianist, Holocaust survivor
Yonatan Barak Abba Kovner Politruk
Hisham Sulliman Cinema logs producer
Abdallah El Akal Salman
Itamar Zohar Romek Kibbutz member
Noam Segal Dani Ben Ari Son of Elyakim and Mira
Kamal Zaid Yousuf

Reception

Hannah Brown in a review by The Jerusalem Post called the film "a great anti-war epic". She praised it as "not so much a political movie as an existential statement about the price paid, quite literally, for the image of the title. Image of Victory is the crowning achievement of Nesher’s career and it is the rare movie that may change the way you look at the world."[2]

Leslie Felperin of The Guardian was more critical, writing that "A film that tries to empathise with everybody runs the risk of pleasing no one, and no doubt there will be viewers enraged by this or that detail or unspoken perspective, but the ambition is nevertheless pretty impressive and on the whole well executed."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Image of Victory". ajff.org. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Avi Nesher's 'Image of Victory' is a triumph of cinema - review". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Image of Victory review – study of the Arab-Israeli conflict from all angles hopes to heal". the Guardian. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  4. ↑ Horovitz, Michael. "'Image of Victory' to be first Israeli-made film to stream on Netflix Israel". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "Image of Victory". Haifa 38th International Film Festival. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  6. ↑ aderet, ofer. "'Tell Danny He Had a Mother'". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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