Golden Voices

קולות רקע | Evgeny Ruman | Israel, 2019 | Russian/Hebrew (English subtitles) | Comedy/Romance/Drama | 88m | IMDB | Distributor/Sales: Intra Movies | Festival marketing sample: HFF 2020 | Trailer

Description: Raya and Victor Frankel are movie dubbers who emigrate to Israel from the former Soviet Union just before the first Gulf War of 1990. They soon discover that the Israeli market for Russian-speaking voice actors is very limited. In desperation Victor accepts a stint dubbing pirated videos and Raya gets a position at a telephone-sex call centre. The film’s gently tragicomic absurdist tone is reminiscent of Aki Kaurismäki’s style.

Merits: This is a technically accomplished film. The multiple cinematic references and the derivative style suggest it is the work of a diligent film school graduate.

Rating: Sexual references, strong language.