Sintflut

The Flood



Yoni is almost thirteen and it is time for him to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah.
This poses no problem for this good student. What worries him much more
is his appearance and, in particular, his voice, that has earned him the nickname
"helium" from his classmates whose voices have already broken. By
night, Yoni does pull ups with heavy weights in a bid to attain his ideal
physique. But then Yoni’s older brother Tomer suddenly appears on the scene, putting an end to his familiar routine and little secrets. Tomer has
spent ten years in a home for autistics. Yoni doesn’t really know his brother
who has had to move back in because of the home’s closure. His reappearance
represents another trial for the family and their parents’ marriage. His
father, a pilot, and his mother, a nursery school teacher, have reduced their
relationship to the bare minimum. But Yoni wouldn’t be Yoni if he didn’t
manage to get to the bottom of his parents’ frosty relationship. His father
only pretends to go to work of a morning; in reality, he was fired for drug
abuse, whilst his mother it seems has been having affairs with the fathers of
her charges. Under such circumstances, it’s nothing short of a miracle that
Yoni manages to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah – a miracle in which his brother
Tomer also plays a role. The latter is so captivated by Yoni’s exam topic –
the story of Noah’s ark – that even Yoni begins to find the concept appealing
of a stable ship in which to weather a great flood and the end of the
world.



"Mabul" is based on Noa Berman-Herzberg’s screenplay for Guy Nattiv’s
eponymous short film, which received a Crystal Bear at the 2002 Berlinale.

Source: 61. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)