Au revoir là-haut (2017, Albert Dupontel)

The Great War binds the lives of three men together. On one side are the accountant Albert (played by Dupontel) and the artist Edouard (brilliant as ever Nahuel Pérez Biscayart). On the other side we have the trigger-happy Henri d'Aulnay-Pradelle Laurent Lafitte, to whom I haven't payed much attention before). November 9, 1918. Everybody is waiting for the end of the war, with the exception of Pradelle. He sends his people on a useless mission. The jaw of Edouard is shot off, Albert wakes up under a dead horse, but is otherwise not wounded. When Edouard sees his deformations, he wants to die. However. Albert deletes him only from the archives, as Edouard doesn't want to return to his family.
Albert doesn't get his previous job back, back still he manages to make enough money, so that they can survive. Emile, a girl from the neighborhood, who can understand Edouard, joins them. Edouard takes up drawing again, but now he sketches war monuments: banal, ugly and expensive - that is the key to success.
See You Up There starts as a serious war drama, trenches, a dog finding the way overt the battlefield, tired soldiers waiting for the truce and senseless war action full with realistic detail. A gripping scene is when Edouard realizes that a part of his face is missing. It become sort of costume drama in postwar Paris with the losers and the winners of the Great War. The film changes direction again after some time. When we learn about the family background of Edouard, family drama is added. And when Edouard invents the scheme to make money by selling war monuments a touch of comedy id added.
Viewers of See You Up There are in for a treat. The longer you watch the film, the greater the pleasure. It's for people who like brilliant dialogues and witty comedies. Obviously it is not a crowd pleaser. When I saw the film today, I was in for a "private performance".
9/10

אסקימו לימון [Lemon Popsicle] (1978, Boaz Davidson)

Yes, I heard about these movies. Yes, anch'io was young at a time, but then in a village we hadn't access to a cinema hall. Maybe even at that time I was too old for this kind of entertainment.
Lemon Popsicle is a teeny farce, a kind of American Graffiti among Jews. Actually when I zapped through channels, I thought that it actually was an American trash comedy. - until I saw that it was produced in Israel in 1978. 40 years ago. Tempus fugit indeed.
In 1978 Lemon Popsicle dealt with young Israelis in the 50's. The official slogans were about constructing the country, but carefree young people thought instead about shagging a hot chick.
We follow the lives of three guys in Tel Aviv. There is fat Yudale. He has sufficient money, so he can hang out with the guys. Of course, he never shags a chick.At best he gets his ass beaten or he is trapped in his underwear. Davidson uses this cliché from bad comedies at length - ad nauseam. There is also a glamour boy, Momo. He uses girls at his pleasure and switches them quite often. At a snap of his finger they will be at his service. Momo is a prick. Benji, the third of the musketeers is a quiet character. He has feelings and he is the only person in this film with some depth. Depth as understood within the limits of this film.
The plot? It is as simple and as trivial as possible. Benji falls in love with Nili, the new girl at school. Momo snatches her from Benji and he makes her pregnant. Then he loses interest in her. Benji pays for her abortion and is prepared to take care of her, but when Momo re-appears on the scene, Benji becomes Mr. Lonely, who has nobody of his own.
The first hour of this film is a cavalcade of vulgarities. In the last hour Davidson remembers that being young and being responsible are not two different things. In my view the last thirty minuts do not save the film from being a voyeuristic softcore sex comedy. Lemon Popsicle gets with very much good will 4/10.
While watching this flick, I wondered if the then were proud of their achievements 40 years ago. Is it useful for a career to star in a softcore sex film? It seems that 40 years ago had another status. It ran in the competition of the Berlinale 1978. Dis they really hope that Davidson was a new Fellini?
The documentary Eskimo Limon - Eis am Stiel: Von Siegern und Verlierern by Eric Friedler tells the story behind and after the glamour. Zachi Noy, now 65 years old, is still fat Yudale. While preparing for a humiliating performance in a shabby club, he feels such deep emptiness inside.
After the surprising success of the 1978-film, Lemon Popsicle started suffering from sequelitis. Those films were co-produced with West-Germany. The adult actress Sibyle Rauch performed in some of these movies. For she it was the peak of her career.
For everybody else Lemon Popsicle was in the words of Boaz Davidson like a ride on the Titanic.
6/10