Movie review: Yossi & Jagger
Aug. 21st, 2006 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bironicLet's not kid ourselves here. I went to Blockbuster yesterday to comb the foreign films section for gay-themed movies—because in our local store, at least, those shelves are stocked by someone who clearly loves his/her queer cinema—aiming, after a week's worth of House slash, for nothing more than some kissage, fondling, bare skin, etc. It would have been a great night for Priest. (Really need to buy that one of these days.) Ended up choosing Yossi & Jagger, a film about two young soldiers carrying on a love affair in the Israeli army.
Yossi & Jagger (Dir. Eyton Fox, Israel, 2002)
Since we're being honest, let's start with the reason this movie got rented. A few minutes in—just when you're starting to differentiate the faces and personalities of the soldiers, taking a break from patrolling the snowy Israeli-Lebanese border to bury a cache of spoiled meat—unit leader Yossi (Ohad Knoller) announces that he and second-in-command Jagger (Yhuda Levi) are going to check again to make sure a checkpoint is clear. But when they've walked a distance away and crested a hill, we find that it's really an excuse to fool around out of sight of the others.
They tease each other, throw snow and wrestle, Yossi sitting on Jagger (whose actual name is Lior; everyone calls him Jagger after the rock star, presumably because of his flair and appeal) and pinning him by his wrists to the ground, at which point Jagger coyly asks, "Is this rape, sir?" In response, Yossi faux-violently unzips Jagger's bulky snow-suit down his chest only to discover that Jagger isn't wearing anything under it. Startled and, after a moment, amused, Yossi says, "I've put soldiers in jail for less than that." Jagger grins, tugs the zipper down to his groin, and slides Yossi's mittened hand inside. "What can I say?" Jagger asks. "I'm an animal." Thence commences the kissing.
After a few lovely moments, Jagger turns his head and slits his eyes open. He catches sight of something that turns out to be a rabbit. His adorable rabbit faces and noises don't charm Yossi enough to distract him from the fact that something is watching them: our first indication that Yossi isn't as comfortable with his sexuality and/or their relationship as his partner. Unfazed, Jagger tosses a snowball at the animal to scare it off, both boys grin, and they continue their activities as the hand-held camera zooms in on lips and lashes and a single simultaneous swipe of tongues. Fade to gray/scene at base camp.
Sated, the boys lie on their backs for a while, stroking their own stomachs and flirting, then singing outrageously (Jagger) and scoffing at the "diva" music (Yossi), before returning to camp, where a colonel has arrived to announce that the men are to conduct a "hot" ambush that night despite their weariness. The rest of the (short—only 67 minutes) movie follows the soldiers and the two young enlisted women the colonel brought as they prepare for and conduct their mission: a meal, gathering of gear, an impromptu trance dance session in the bunk, drills, and finally the ambush itself when night falls.
Throughout the day and night that comprise most of the rest of the movie, we get a representative sampling of the intimacy and conflicts between Yossi and Jagger. In one scene they communicate across the mess room in quick gestures like a baseball catcher and pitcher; in another, they share an erotic moment eating dessert before Yossi shoves Jagger's hand away because another soldier is approaching; in another, the stern, self-conscious commander and romantic extrovert argue over their future.
** Spoilers in next two paragraphs, but really, seeing as how the movie is so predictable, knowing what happens shouldn't much ruin your enjoyment of it if you ever decide to watch. **
As it happens, the filmmakers chose the latter route; Jagger steps on a buried mine at the ambush site and dies of chest burns before the rescue helicopter arrives. Pressing ointment to the wounds, pleading for him to hold on so they can have their vacation and family dinners despite his earlier hesitation, telling him he loves him right in front of Ofir, attempting mouth-to-mouth when his pulse gives out, and finally kissing him lightly on the lips, Yossi gives Jagger a proper Hollywood ending, if not the one he wished for.
Thankfully, the movie doesn't end there. Instead, it follows everyone to the Amichai home where Jagger's parents are sitting shiva. Yossi and Yaeli are the last two to arrive. It's pretty heartbreaking to watch Yossi stand in his lover's house for the first time and not say a word about his real relationship with the deceased. (I suspect that he might have broken down and told the parents had all the army people not been sitting in the room.) He says nothing when Yaeli says she was in love with Lior and that she was sure Lior was about to return her sentiments, nor when Mrs. Amichai says she knew almost nothing about her son, including the fact that he had a girlfriend, nor when Yaeli lets the implication stand. He doesn't speak up until Mrs. Amichai says she didn't even know her son's favorite song. Under half the room's stares of varying degrees of comprehension, Yossi tells them what it was—the "diva" one Jagger sang earlier, in the snow—and then sings it softly to himself while everyone else continues talking. He picks up a photo album and finds a picture Jagger mentioned in which he's dressed up like a rabbit, making that adorable face, and Yossi startles and almost cries, then puts down the album and watches everyone, letting Yaeli and Mrs. Amichai bond over their imagined intimacy (but real grief), nursing his secret alone. Really understated and powerful.
** End of spoilers. **
I never would have guessed that the tagline of the movie was "Love should never be a secret." It's preachy and cheesy in a way the movie itself mostly avoided. I'm not sure exactly what the movie did accomplish, other than depicting a somewhat unconventional love story in a closed community not often glimpsed by outsiders. The promotional materials claim that the film tackled issues of homosexuality and repression in the Israeli military as well as the tragedy of being in the prime of your youth while trapped in compulsory military service of a kind that risks life and limb, all "without any flag-waving." I suppose that's true, although the predictability of the plot overshadowed the lack of heavy-handed preaching. Still, I wasn't in it for any profound statements or inspiring morals, and was quite satisfied with the high-quality acting and boylove.
Plus, Hebrew can be such a soft, pretty language, and everyone in this movie spoke it so beautifully that it made me wish I knew more than a handful of prayers and passages and the national anthem. Even half the names were pretty: Lior Amichai, Yaeli. Treats for the tongue.
The soundtrack was lovely too. The singer of the title track sounds marvelously like Iarla O'Lionard of Afro Celt Sound System, and the music over the snow-sex scene reminded me of a cross between Christophe Beck and E. S. Posthumous. *pause* These all look horribly obscure and pretentious, don't they. Let's round it out by saying that even the trance music was enjoyable.
I close with these two promotional shots of Knoller and Levi. I think the choice of outfits, poses and expressions is interesting, since the actors spent the entire movie in fatigues and camouflage snowsuits. Presumably the undone tuxes, suggestively-positioned wine glass and beefcakey uniforms were intended to appeal to a particular audience of gay men. Little did they know what sort of person would be picking up the DVD from the store shelf.
ETA: A timely link on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kabale's LJ to a paper on Israel's exploitation of its LGBT community to foster prejudice against Palestinians. The part of the article that addresses the issue of gays in the military seems appropriate to excerpt here:
Yossi & Jagger (Dir. Eyton Fox, Israel, 2002)
Since we're being honest, let's start with the reason this movie got rented. A few minutes in—just when you're starting to differentiate the faces and personalities of the soldiers, taking a break from patrolling the snowy Israeli-Lebanese border to bury a cache of spoiled meat—unit leader Yossi (Ohad Knoller) announces that he and second-in-command Jagger (Yhuda Levi) are going to check again to make sure a checkpoint is clear. But when they've walked a distance away and crested a hill, we find that it's really an excuse to fool around out of sight of the others.
They tease each other, throw snow and wrestle, Yossi sitting on Jagger (whose actual name is Lior; everyone calls him Jagger after the rock star, presumably because of his flair and appeal) and pinning him by his wrists to the ground, at which point Jagger coyly asks, "Is this rape, sir?" In response, Yossi faux-violently unzips Jagger's bulky snow-suit down his chest only to discover that Jagger isn't wearing anything under it. Startled and, after a moment, amused, Yossi says, "I've put soldiers in jail for less than that." Jagger grins, tugs the zipper down to his groin, and slides Yossi's mittened hand inside. "What can I say?" Jagger asks. "I'm an animal." Thence commences the kissing.
After a few lovely moments, Jagger turns his head and slits his eyes open. He catches sight of something that turns out to be a rabbit. His adorable rabbit faces and noises don't charm Yossi enough to distract him from the fact that something is watching them: our first indication that Yossi isn't as comfortable with his sexuality and/or their relationship as his partner. Unfazed, Jagger tosses a snowball at the animal to scare it off, both boys grin, and they continue their activities as the hand-held camera zooms in on lips and lashes and a single simultaneous swipe of tongues. Fade to gray/scene at base camp.
 |  |  | ||
| Yossi (left) and Jagger (right) get naughty in the snow. | Jagger turns his head and notices a rabbit watching them. | The boys after Jagger throws a snowball at the rabbit. |
Sated, the boys lie on their backs for a while, stroking their own stomachs and flirting, then singing outrageously (Jagger) and scoffing at the "diva" music (Yossi), before returning to camp, where a colonel has arrived to announce that the men are to conduct a "hot" ambush that night despite their weariness. The rest of the (short—only 67 minutes) movie follows the soldiers and the two young enlisted women the colonel brought as they prepare for and conduct their mission: a meal, gathering of gear, an impromptu trance dance session in the bunk, drills, and finally the ambush itself when night falls.
Throughout the day and night that comprise most of the rest of the movie, we get a representative sampling of the intimacy and conflicts between Yossi and Jagger. In one scene they communicate across the mess room in quick gestures like a baseball catcher and pitcher; in another, they share an erotic moment eating dessert before Yossi shoves Jagger's hand away because another soldier is approaching; in another, the stern, self-conscious commander and romantic extrovert argue over their future.
Yossi: Why don't you grow up already? What do you want from me? I'm sorry this isn't easy for me. I'm sorry I don't surprise you with some goddamn ring. I'm sorry this isn't some fucking American movie.Once it's established that Yossi and Jagger are (a) happy and (b) in the army, we can expect the movie to go in one of two directions: they will be found out, or one of them will die. Possibly both, if the screenwriter was economical. Despite the fact that it seems to be an open secret among the soldiers that the two of them are in some kind of relationship—everyone knows they're close, and at least one soldier, Ofir, has intuited that they're having sex—the tension is there to support the former supposition, from Yossi's insistence on hiding any sign of affection to the colonel's super-macho attitude to the other men's mildly derogatory jokes about "fags." One of the visiting women, the tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed Yaeli (Aya Koren), who has set her romantic sights on Jagger, pushes the situation toward a crisis point as she pries into his private life in her attempt to find out whether he likes her back, won't acknowledge his hints at disinterestedness, and spurns the lovelorn and increasingly angry Ofir in the process.
Jagger, petulantly: Yes, sir.
** Spoilers in next two paragraphs, but really, seeing as how the movie is so predictable, knowing what happens shouldn't much ruin your enjoyment of it if you ever decide to watch. **
As it happens, the filmmakers chose the latter route; Jagger steps on a buried mine at the ambush site and dies of chest burns before the rescue helicopter arrives. Pressing ointment to the wounds, pleading for him to hold on so they can have their vacation and family dinners despite his earlier hesitation, telling him he loves him right in front of Ofir, attempting mouth-to-mouth when his pulse gives out, and finally kissing him lightly on the lips, Yossi gives Jagger a proper Hollywood ending, if not the one he wished for.
Thankfully, the movie doesn't end there. Instead, it follows everyone to the Amichai home where Jagger's parents are sitting shiva. Yossi and Yaeli are the last two to arrive. It's pretty heartbreaking to watch Yossi stand in his lover's house for the first time and not say a word about his real relationship with the deceased. (I suspect that he might have broken down and told the parents had all the army people not been sitting in the room.) He says nothing when Yaeli says she was in love with Lior and that she was sure Lior was about to return her sentiments, nor when Mrs. Amichai says she knew almost nothing about her son, including the fact that he had a girlfriend, nor when Yaeli lets the implication stand. He doesn't speak up until Mrs. Amichai says she didn't even know her son's favorite song. Under half the room's stares of varying degrees of comprehension, Yossi tells them what it was—the "diva" one Jagger sang earlier, in the snow—and then sings it softly to himself while everyone else continues talking. He picks up a photo album and finds a picture Jagger mentioned in which he's dressed up like a rabbit, making that adorable face, and Yossi startles and almost cries, then puts down the album and watches everyone, letting Yaeli and Mrs. Amichai bond over their imagined intimacy (but real grief), nursing his secret alone. Really understated and powerful.
** End of spoilers. **
I never would have guessed that the tagline of the movie was "Love should never be a secret." It's preachy and cheesy in a way the movie itself mostly avoided. I'm not sure exactly what the movie did accomplish, other than depicting a somewhat unconventional love story in a closed community not often glimpsed by outsiders. The promotional materials claim that the film tackled issues of homosexuality and repression in the Israeli military as well as the tragedy of being in the prime of your youth while trapped in compulsory military service of a kind that risks life and limb, all "without any flag-waving." I suppose that's true, although the predictability of the plot overshadowed the lack of heavy-handed preaching. Still, I wasn't in it for any profound statements or inspiring morals, and was quite satisfied with the high-quality acting and boylove.
Plus, Hebrew can be such a soft, pretty language, and everyone in this movie spoke it so beautifully that it made me wish I knew more than a handful of prayers and passages and the national anthem. Even half the names were pretty: Lior Amichai, Yaeli. Treats for the tongue.
The soundtrack was lovely too. The singer of the title track sounds marvelously like Iarla O'Lionard of Afro Celt Sound System, and the music over the snow-sex scene reminded me of a cross between Christophe Beck and E. S. Posthumous. *pause* These all look horribly obscure and pretentious, don't they. Let's round it out by saying that even the trance music was enjoyable.
I close with these two promotional shots of Knoller and Levi. I think the choice of outfits, poses and expressions is interesting, since the actors spent the entire movie in fatigues and camouflage snowsuits. Presumably the undone tuxes, suggestively-positioned wine glass and beefcakey uniforms were intended to appeal to a particular audience of gay men. Little did they know what sort of person would be picking up the DVD from the store shelf.
 |  |
ETA: A timely link on
kabale's LJ to a paper on Israel's exploitation of its LGBT community to foster prejudice against Palestinians. The part of the article that addresses the issue of gays in the military seems appropriate to excerpt here:One [study] states, for example, that "there is no evidence that the long-standing inclusion of homosexuals in the IDF has harmed operational effectiveness, combat readiness, unit cohesion or morale in the Israeli military [16]" while another found "no common adjustment problems relating to these [gay] men’s sexual orientation [17]". But, as one paper notes, while the law has been changed to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the Army, the vast majority still choose to hide their sexual orientation from their fellow combatants, and instead adapt to the masculine and heterosexual norms of the Army [18]. (Blair Kuntz, Znet, 8/13/06)So Yossi and Jagger might have more significance in the face of current events than I gave it credit for.
no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 04:57 am (UTC)they will be found out, or one of them will die. Possibly both, if the screenwriter was economical.
Heh. Also, I love Priest as well. Have you seen Maurice? I'm afraid I tend to rec that to everyone, because I adore it so :)
no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 07:43 am (UTC)My parent's one will have it. I really like watching subtitled films. And boylove as an added bonus. It certainly sounds good to watch.
no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 11:39 am (UTC)Priest is an unsung hero of a movie, isn't it? At least here, where no one seems to have heard of it.
no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 11:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 12:27 pm (UTC)My parent's video store has been run by the same two guys for at least ten years. They have a brilliant recommended section. And occasionally they have told my father that he really doesn't want to borrow the video he had picked out.
When my local store was hiring they were asking for people who were interested in going further in customer service, not people who liked films.
no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 12:58 pm (UTC)Weirdly, everyone I know seems to know Priest. Of course, this may be a factor of the people I know - also, that UK films are possibly more generally well-recognised in Australia than in the US.
no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 09:41 pm (UTC)http://www.yossiandjagger.com/news_prv9.asp
You might be interested in another movie by Eytan Fox (whose mother, incidentally, was well-known in the peace activist community in Israel) called Walk on Water, from 2004. It's not as subtle as Yossi and Jagger in terms of storytelling (and it has a more Hollywood ending), but I liked it. It's not about the military, but it is about a lot of different aspects of Israeli society, including militarism, homosexuality (and homophobia), and the occupation.
no subject
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2006 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Aug. 23rd, 2006 12:05 am (UTC)I have seen Latter Days -- it was one of those grab-a-random-movie-off-the-shelf-and-see-if-it's-any-good rentals, and turned out to be quite fun! Someone spliced in some footage from that in an adult House/Wilson vid recently, didn't they?
Haven't seen Happy Together. What's it about/who's in it/etc? Maurice is on my list. Priest is highly recommended, though be prepared for some angst and uncomfortable subject matter.
no subject
Date: Aug. 23rd, 2006 12:50 am (UTC)Happy Together is a Chinese film by Wong Kar-Wai. It's about a couple who move from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires to mend their relationship, but things kind of fall to pieces once they get there. Wong Kar-Wai is kind of a tough director for me (he can be very experimental and half the time I don't know what the heck is going on!), but I enjoyed it enough for the exploration of the pair's "screwed-up" relationship (hmm... who does that remind me of?), and for the cinematography, which was really beautiful. It's worth a look, I think. :)
no subject
Date: Aug. 23rd, 2006 12:58 am (UTC)I saw Kiss of the Spider Woman years ago; I think I was a little too young for it. I do remember liking it despite all the stuff that went over my head, but was definitely traumatized by the diarrhea scene.
That's great that people know Priest. Here, if you like foreign films that aren't Amelie or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or whatever, you're pretty much assumed to be stuck-up and/or a film student. Or have parents from another country. One of the disadvantages of living in a country that produces a large percentage of the world's media.
no subject
Date: Aug. 23rd, 2006 01:01 am (UTC)If you love subtitled films with boylove, by the way, you should definitely try Farewell My Concubine (Chinese) if you haven't already. Angsty and beautiful. Book's even better.
no subject
Date: Aug. 23rd, 2006 01:12 am (UTC)I might check out the book. I need to read more things longer than one-shot fic. Or the film, if they have it.
no subject
Date: Aug. 23rd, 2006 02:06 am (UTC)Will check for Walk on Water too. So many movies, so little time. Really.
no subject
Date: Aug. 23rd, 2006 12:57 pm (UTC)*adds to ScreenSelect list, after slashy vintage Doctor Who*
It's interesting, because I would have thought that the much-more-than-token (as opposed to the situation in most countries) inclusion of women in the Israeli army would have made it much easier for gay men and women to be out in the military. I figured that the usual tightly-knit network of (at least allegedly) heterosexual men bonding over that strangely military combination of sexual dominance (not just stories of their romantic conquests, but a culture that "feminises" the enemy, calling enemy combatants and prisoners "bitches" and "pussies") and romantic sentimentality ("tell me about your girl back home") would already have been challenged. Then again, women are still excluded from ground combat units in Israel, and often serve in all-female units. So perhaps not.
no subject
Date: Aug. 25th, 2006 09:13 pm (UTC)Oh. OH. Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung! That movie is so going on my list.
no subject
Date: Aug. 25th, 2006 10:16 pm (UTC)Let me know what you think! ;)
*off to dvd myself silly with X-Men 2, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Tristram Shandy, and House Season 2 of course! Hooray for the weekend!*
no subject
Date: Aug. 26th, 2006 12:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Aug. 26th, 2006 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Aug. 26th, 2006 03:21 pm (UTC)catilinarian also set up an interesting dichotomy by which to track the fates of some of the main characters:
Clive thinks more than he feels.
Maurice feels more than he thinks.
Risley thinks AND feels.
Keep that in mind too.
I would elaborate but, you know, spoilers.
p.s.
Date: Aug. 26th, 2006 03:26 pm (UTC)A long discussion on the topic of male formalwear yesterday led to the conclusion that tuxedoes are usually naff these days, but only the ones with very small bow ties and cummerbunds. Waistcoats are okay, and a properly crisp bow tie and collar (folded over, Edwardian-style) may save a tuxedo from its inherent naffitude.
White tie, opera dress (tux with waistcoat, scarf, gloves, hat, cane), and morning dress are still preferred.
Debate is welcome on this issue, or it may stand alone as a random tangent. I leave that to the people to decide.
no subject
Date: Aug. 26th, 2006 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Aug. 26th, 2006 06:01 pm (UTC)I'm pretty sure I saw him jogging once along Holloway Road - he was wearing a pretty god-awful bobble hat, but even it could not disguise his intrinsic gloriousness.
no subject
Date: Aug. 26th, 2006 06:03 pm (UTC)