Yana's Friends

This beautifully crafted romantic comedy set against the backdrop of the Gulf War is a bittersweet comment on the hopes, dreams and travails of Israel's Russian immigrants. Yana (Evelyne Kaplun), newly arrived in Tel Aviv, is young and beautiful. She speaks very little Hebrew and, without work, money or friends, faces the challenges of immigrants everywhere. The threat of poison-gas missile attacks forces her into the only sealed room in the house, in close contact with her roommate Eli (Nir Levi), an irresistibly charming, if roguish, wedding videographer with a passion for videotaping all of the life around him, including his many girlfriends. Yana also gets to know the couple across the hall, who make their living y putting the wife's father, an elderly Russian war hero, out to beg in a wheelchair. Director Arik Kaplun, who was listed in Variety magazine as one of 10 young filmmakers to watch, shows impressive restraint and allows his fine ensemble cast to carry the film. Popular Russian singer Vladimir Friedman is especially fun to watch in his role as a tough guy with a tender side. He also appears in VOYAGES.