Concerned Citizen (2022) User Reviews

Thoughtful But Could Have Been Stronger

[brentsbulletinboard · 6/10 · 19 June 2023]

A desire for creating surroundings that are nice, tidy and pleasant is certainly laudable, but what if that drive for pristine perfection goes south, with the emergence of unexpected circumstances and consequences that seriously undercut such intentions? Such is the case when a gay couple, Ben (Shlomi Bertonov) and Raz (Ariel Wolf), move into a Tel Aviv neighborhood just beginning the process of gentrification. As expectant parents, they hope their child will grow up in a civil, multicultural area free of crime and bad influences, backed by positive attributes, such as a clean, safe environment. Ben even does his by part by going so far as to plant a tree to add to the ambiance. But, when he witnesses neighbors treating it badly, he grows incensed and informs the authorities, igniting a firestorm of issues that prompt him to question his supposedly liberal values, raising questions about fairness and tolerance vs. Privilege, not to mention hypocrisy. While the story is somewhat light on plot, it nevertheless subtly by effectively addresses issues related to one's character and authenticity. True, writer-director Idan Haguel's third feature outing probably could have benefitted from a more developed narrative, but its incisive look at what we say and what we actually do gives even the most self-righteous among us much to consider, especially when it comes to walking our talk. We can learn a lot from some well-considered reflection, and "Concerned Citizen" gives us a spot-on look at that question, one we should all take seriously from time to time.

Aimless

[laduqesa · 3/10 · 26 August 2023]

This really didn't know where it was going any more than main character Ben knew what he wanted. The writer was trying to show complexity of character but simply managed to be superficial with so many different changes of mind, beliefs, desires, direction.

The film showed a subset of Israeli society, the lives of rich Askenazis. Not a single Sephardi or Mizrahi was portrayed. The film related their first world problems - therapy sessions, gay guys and surrogacy, gym sessions, gentrification, expensive home improvements. However, the film also, unwittingly, showed the stratification of Israeli society as it has been since the beginning. Askenazis on top and poor African immigrants at the bottom.

The two main characters led insulated lives. Not a single Palestinian interrupted their story, not even a shopkeeper or fruit seller. One shudders to think of what they had done in the army.

The film also let another big secret out. If cops could do what they did to a poor Eritrean in cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, how much worse would they be in the occupied territories?

This film needs more than a superficial viewing. The historical and political context needs to be taken into account. As I said, I don't believe for a second that the director was making a subversive film. The deeper glimpses we got of the iniquities of the society were not deliberate. This was pinkwashing again with a few frissons thrown in. I'm not sure why this site describes it as a comedy either. There's nothing comedic about the film, not even darkly.

Watch with open eyes if you have to. Don't be taken in.

Good, but not for the action lovers or the homophobes

[Nozz · 8/10 · 8 October 2022]

A fellow picks up the phone to report a problem. He doesn't want to get deeply involved, so he prefers not to state his name. But matters don't proceed as expected, and he winds up feeling a burden of guilt. It damages all the other aspects of his life, but how can he dispel it?

This is a low-budget movie centered around that one character and his distress, although there is a believable supporting cast. One cause of the hero's predicament is that he's come into contact with a community foreign to his comfortably bourgeois background, and the film is quietly ironic about how his little predicament is dwarfed by the big issues around him in South Tel Aviv, notably African immigrants and gentrification. Still, I think everyone can identify with the well-acted situation in which the protagonist regrets a mistake that he can't reverse.

The protagonist is gay, and in the movie homosexuality is emphatically normalized. If that sounds like an oxymoron, it rather feels like one too, as extra screen time is devoted to gay goings-on that don't advance the plot. Enough, I'm afraid, to risk consigning the movie to a niche audience, although I understand HBO has bought it for streaming.