Roses Gate (2022)

Roses Gate (2022). 1h 30m

“My wife loved this one… but she knows a little Morocccan Arabic, and part of the filmu0026#39;s appeal is nostalgia for the family life of Moroccan immigrants to Israel. Several language consultants are credited, and Iu0026#39;m assured that the language, like the customs, is vividly and amusingly recreated. I have to say a lot of it passed me by, and apparently that goes for much of the population. At a morning showing a couple of weeks after this film premiered, the two of us were alone in the auditorium.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eParts of the film, particularly near the beginning, come across rather like a stage play as members of a large family sit around trading colorful remarks. The film does remind us increasingly with visuals, though, that weu0026#39;re in a poor desert town, presumably Sderot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA young member of the family likes to videotape everyone else. Such a device can be a warning sign– a sign that the screenwriter can think of no other way for the characters to speak their minds, or that he canu0026#39;t write a story that isnu0026#39;t about himself– but in this case itu0026#39;s just a quirk and the family is remarkably capable of ignoring the videocamera until it gets to be too much for them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s not always easy to remember who fits in where, but we come to accept that the main character is the one played by popular TV actor Arik Mishali. Heu0026#39;s a compulsive gambler, and heu0026#39;s menaced by a debt collector who, for some unaccountable reason, speaks only in English. That arc seems to conclude early, yielding place to a couple of rather rushed love stories, but there are surprises yet to come before the end. I suppose the structure of the script is what sets it apart from other family-centered Israeli comedy/dramas. That, and a praiseworthy reluctance to emphasize strident caricature.”