Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona
| Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Assi Dayan |
| Produced by | Naftali Alter Itzhak Shani |
| Written by | Assi Dayan Naftali Alter |
| Starring | Shaike Levi Yisrael Poliakov Gavri Banai |
| Music by | Naftali Alter |
| Cinematography | Yaakov Kelah |
| Editing by | David Tvi |
| Release date(s) | 1976 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | Israel |
| Language | Hebrew |
Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona (Hebrew: גבעת חלפון אינה עונה) also credited as Halfon Hill Doesn't Answer, is a cult Israeli comedy film produced in 1976. It is a good-hearted satire movie about the Israel Defense Forces which tells the story of a reserves company, watching the Egyptian border in Sinai. Characters such as the conman Sergio Constanza, the Egyptian-born Mr. Hasson and the huge cook Yosifoun became classics.
The name of the film is a parody of the name of the Israeli patriotic film Giv'a 24 Eina Ona (Hill 24 Doesn't Answer).
The film was directed by Assi Dayan and features members of HaGashash HaHiver: Shaike Levi, Yisrael Poliakov and Gavri Banai.
[edit] Plot
Staff Sgt. Raphael "Jinji" Moked is ordered by his captain, company commander Shamgar, to retrieve Sergio Constanza, a deserter from reserve service. On his way he meets his girlfriend Yaeli and offers to talk to her father, Victor Hasson, to get a blessing for their relationship. Hasson gives his blessing, believing that Moked came for his older daughter Shifra, but throws him out of the house after finding out this was not so. Yaeli does not wish to part from Moked, and sneaks into a suitcase in his jeep. Meanwhile, Sergio Constanza tricks several other gamblers into losing thousands of dollars, which he intends to use to repay his debt to Mr. Hasson. The gamblers find out about the plot however, which leaves Sergio with no choice but to run away to the army with Moked.
Moked and Constanza make it to the Sinai base, and Mr. Hasson follows them posing as Constanza. When he is not allowed into the base, he steals a loader (tractor) to break in. Meanwhile, Moked finds out that Yaeli came with them, and Constanza comes up with a plot to make her an authorized visitor, by claiming that she is a singer/entertainer sent from the Education Corps. Mr. Hasson arrives at the base with the loader, and is caught by the soldiers in a fishing net. Shamgar calls the brigadier about the incident. He then meets with Yaeli in private and they start dancing African dances half-nude.
As the brigadier is about to arrive, Moked releases Mr. Hasson, who is forced to temporarily reconcile with Constanza. The brigadier finds Shamgar dancing alone and making noises, deems him insane, and takes him away in his helicopter. Moked is made the temporary commander of the outpost. It is discovered that Mr. Hasson is an excellent cook. He transforms the military kitchen into a restaurant-like establishment, and then denies Constanza access. In revenge, Constanza tricks Hasson into buying a plot of land from him for the owed money, which Hasson believes to be an oil field.
Constanza eats food from another soldier, Wasserman. He then tries to help Moked by matching this Wasserman with Shifra Hasson, Yaeli's older sister. Shifra arrives at the base but isn't impressed with Wasserman, and falls in love with Constanza instead. Hasson goes fishing, but then accidentally goes over the border and encounters an Egyptian patrol, which takes him captive. The Israeli soldiers devise a plot to rescue him by posing as UN observers. While the plot doesn't go as planned, Hasson is eventually rescued and returned to the base.
When Hasson returns to the base, he discovers that the plot of land that Sergio sold him isn't really an oil field. However, an inasane Shamgar appears and falls into the hole dug there by Hasson, making oil come out. The film ends with Hasson, Moked and Constanza trying to sell the oil in Tel Aviv early in the morning.
[edit] Cast
- Staff Sgt. Raphael "Jinji" Moked (Gavri Banai) - an IDF non-commissioned officer, in love with Mr. Hasson's young daughter Yaeli.
- Sergio Constanza (Yisrael Poliakov) - a crook, who owes Mr. Hasson thousands of dollars. Sergio decides to run away for reserve duty after he gets into troubles with Hasson and other gamblers in Tel Aviv. Sergio is a charming funny crook, cunning and manipulative.
- Victor Hasson (Shaike Levi) - a wealthy Jew, born in Egypt and immigrated to Israel. Hasson lives in Tel Aviv with two daughters and is determined to get the older daughter married. He pursues Sergio into the Sinai because of a large debt. The scene where Hasson lifts Sergio's field-toilet cabin with a loader-bulldozer became a classic.
- Yaeli Hasson (Nitza Shaul) - Mr Hasson's beautiful young daughter and Jinji's beloved. They want to get married but Hasson conditions it on finding a groom for his older daughter. Following Hasson's refusal, Yaeli sneaks into Jinji's jeep and finds herself in the Sinai base.
- Shifra Hasson (Miki Kam) - Hasson's older daughter.
- Yosifoun (Moshe Ish Kasit) - the big and strong cook in the Sinai base.
- Shamgar (Tuvia Tzafir) - the horny commander of the Sinai post.
The film also features Hanna Laslo, and Oshik Levi.
