Since it’s obvious Hollywood isn’t making any big changes in its output any time soon, I’m a big fan of the growing variety in Israeli entertainment the U.S. is getting, with the recent thrillers Big Bad Wolves and Bethlehem raising many eyebrows on their way to upcoming theatrical releases. (I could do without the Aermicanized Rising Star however.) There’s a good chance U.S. audiences will soon get their eyes on another dark and dementedly comedic thriller, Goldberg & Eisenberg, which has recently been added to this year’s Slamdance Festival, making it the third North American festival where the film has screened following the Fantasia Festival and Screamfest. If it doesn’t come out soon, I’m going to have to stalk a bunch of distribution companies until they pick this film up.
The festival trailer that you can see above, which comes to us via BloodyDisgusting, doesn’t necessarily look like something that would bring a hundred million people into theaters, but the movie has "cult film" written all over it. I mean, did you see that one guy’s hair? That alone is worth a price of theater admission.
The story follows an ordinary computer programmer, Goldberg (Yitzhak Laor), whose rather subdued life is turned upside down when he gets targeted by a seemingly mental lowlife, Eisenberg (Yahav Gal), who is apparently just looking for a friend. But he’s looking really hard, and doesn’t like it too much when his attempts at friendship are spurned. Soon Goldberg finds himself simply looking for a way to escape with his life intact.
The trailer kind of goes above and beyond that description though, doesn’t it? The way the light is blown out in the beginning, combined with the rapid editing and use of the name "Goldberg" make it look dreamlike, but the laundry list of Eisenberg’s horrendous offenses, plus the giant slo-mo loogie to the face, do a good job of reminding us that this is in fact a nightmarish story with violence, revenge and offbeat thuggery at its heart.
It looks like a movie that Tarantino would have made had he grown up in a completely different time and place. The film’s poster features a quote from Twitch.com calling first time filmmaker Oren Carmi "Israel’s Answer to the Coen Brothers," which is a pretty huge compliment. Let’s hope it isn't too much of an exaggeration, though I think it’s worth noting that I’ll watch any movie that has a trailer featuring the dialogue "Nice tummy bass," from a man slapping a dog’s stomach. I’m that easy.
Check out the pretty plain poster below and be sure and check out the screenings on January 19th and 21st if you happen to be in the Slamdance Festival area of Park City, Utah.
