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Yossi & Jagger

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Yossi & Jagger reviews
71
9.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama  |  Foreign  |  Gay/Lesbian  |  Romance

Written by: Avner Bernheimer

Directed by: Eytan Fox

Release Date:
Theatrical: September 24, 2003
DVD: March 30, 2004

Running Time: 65 minutes, Color

Origin: Israel

Language(s): Hebrew (with English subtitles)

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Yehuda Levi, Ohad Knoller, Assi Cohen, Aya Steinovitz, Hani Furstenberg, Sharon Raginiano, and Shmulik Bernheimer

Based on a true story, Yossi & Jagger portrays the love affair of two Israeli officers in a remote army base on the Israeli-Lebanese border. (Lama Productions)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80

The New York Times Stephen Holden

If the situation has all the ingredients of a shrill, tearful melodrama, the filmmaker, working from a taut screenplay by Avner Bernheimer that doesn't waste a word or a gesture, keeps the emotional lid firmly in place.

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80

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Enlivened by journalist Avner Bernheimer's delicately witty script and some lively ensemble performances under the direction of Eytan Fox, the film offers a haunting portrait of a generation forced to risk their lives in the service of military goals they're far from totally committed to.

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80

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Performances are crisp, as is everything else about this vital, economical film, proof that less really can be more.

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80

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Short but powerful drama.

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80

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Short but powerful drama.

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75

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Slight but extremely effective, and its characters so engaging that even the sad finale, which is not entirely unexpected or original, manages to pack surprising power.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

Surprisingly lighthearted, thanks to Israeli director Eytan Fox's deft touch with comedy and old- fashioned romance.

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75

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

What the movie lacks in ambition, originality, and grit, it makes up for in pure feeling.

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75

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

Most of the film's action takes place on the base, where Fox smartly concentrates on how this relationship -- tormented at times, lighthearted at others -- exists in Israel's military bubble.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Howard Shapiro

Y&J could have been made anywhere, really; it's a tale of being scared, of being hopeful, of the unsettling intersection between commitment and loss.

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75

New York Post V.A. Musetto

The lazy story takes on a passion and urgency that peaks in an emotional finale.

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75

Premiere Peter Debruge

Although director Eytan Fox focuses on Yossi and Jagger's specific situation, he also casts a critical eye on the responsibility military service puts on all young people who are still in the process of discovering themselves.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

The film ambles along at a relaxed pace, well depicting the uneasy relationships among the soldiers and the mixture of boredom and danger that marks their daily existence.

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70

Variety Derek Elley

It's a very small pic but engagingly played by a fine cast.

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70

Village Voice J. Hoberman

At 71 minutes, the movie is scarcely more than an anecdote. But vivid as it is in establishing a specific milieu, its economy is its strength.

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70

Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton

Despite the mostly static setting, director Eytan Fox keeps this 2002 Israeli feature surprisingly lively, gracefully balancing the various story lines and making good use of an excellent ensemble cast.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

It’s amazing what Yossi & Jagger does manage to relay in its brief time onscreen. And instead of melodrama and fireworks, the film goes the more difficult route of restraint and psychological tension.

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63

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

The film is hampered by a somewhat shallow, soap-operatic climax. But Knoller is superb as a practical man trying to balance reason and emotion. Fox does an excellent job capturing the claustrophobia of army life, made all the more suffocating by having to hide one's true self.

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60

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

A sprint when it should be a marathon, Yossi & Jagger crackles with promise, but much of it goes unrealized. Without the time or resources to develop its characters and overstuffed plot, the result feels like the Cliffs Notes for a longer, more satisfying film.

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60

TV Guide Ken Fox

Daring, ultimately heartbreaking.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Andy gave it a10:
Really good movie. An excellent cast and an involving and amazing story.

Frank G gave it an8:
Very good movie. A real tear jerker. Some aspects of the film quality betrayed a low budget but overall it is well done.

daren b. gave it a10:
Short but nice... I watched it on HBO on demand. Damn good.

Cee cee gave it a 10:
It felt as if I were peeking at people's 'slilce of life'. Packs a whallop! Don't miss it.

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