Leon Livshitz Films: Written Review

Leon Livshitz Films

Written Review

Hi everyone, and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, the show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films. My Name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions. Today marks our thirtieth episode, and to celebrate thirty weeks of reviews, we will be reviewing THREE short films from MyIndie featured artist, talented Israeli filmmaker Leon Livshitz!

We’ve known Leon for the better part of a decade, but somehow this is the first time I get to review his work. Thank you, Leon for sharing your films with us.

Let’s get right to it!

Film number one! 2013’s short thriller Let Me Help You.

Aya, a young girl, portrayed by Israeli model and actress, Yaara Benbenishty is riding her bicycle in Tel-Aviv. She stops to pick up a couple of things at a kiosk when a couple, who seem to be down on their luck, catch her eye. At first they seem to be harmlessly lurking, but then Aya realizes that they stole her bicycle. She manages to get the drop on them and causes them to crash mid-escape. The couple, played by Honey Yeshayahu Kupferberg and Yedidia Vital seem stunned. The young man suffers a nasty laceration on his forehead.

Aya takes pity on the two and manages to convince them to come up to her apartment, so she can tend to the young man’s wound and possibly offer them something to eat.

Just like that, the couple find themselves in Aya’s apartment, but if you would have guessed that not everything is as it seems…

It feels Leon’s vision was designed to create a sinister vibe. From the casual interaction between our characters, Leon manages to convey an eerie notion, as the story is an excellent representation of the Wolf in Sheep’s clothing motif.

Somewhat reminiscent of Michael Haneke’s work, Leon successfully built a dark world in subtext preceding the story’s climax. That means that the eerie experience of the overall tone comes from hidden layers appearing near the end of the second act. So you feel that something is off, but not sure exactly what.

Leon also built an interesting dynamic between all three characters and he did it with admirable simplicity to let the viewers know exactly who these people are and what kind of personalities they have as the story progresses.

To sum up, Let Me Help You is a wonderful example of Leon’s ability to build a multilayered story. Production value is fairly decent, cinematography by Oron Cohen is very well done, and the performances were excellent.

Let Me Help You gets an 8/10 on the Look At Me, I’m A Film Critic scale!

I was honored to be a crew member on the production, and as most productions go, it was not easy, but it was an unforgettable experience!

Let Me Help You was officially selected to Twenty-Nine festivals worldwide and won Two Awards, including the Best International Film Award at the International Film and Animation Festival “Vision” in Russia. It is a Hebrew speaking film with English subtitles and is available for viewing on AngerMan Distribution’s VOD channel. Link at the top of the page.

Film Number Two! 2017’s short comedy: For Life!

Yasmin, a young woman, portrayed by Shiri Gadni is engaged to Daniel, played by Iftach Leibovic. We first see her entering a Jewelry store, browsing the different displays. She eventually halts, dumbfounded at the gaze of one of the store employees, Bar, an attractive young man played by Yishay Ben-Moshe.

It appears the reason for Yasmin’s surprise has something to do with the somewhat steamy history between the two. As all her past emotions rise again, Bar takes notice that she still covets him. This development is terrible for Yasmin, as she did not arrive alone. Her fiance Daniel is about to enter at any second as he was merely parking the car. As stressful as Yasmin’s day may have been looking, it is not about to get any better.

With quick-witted dialogue and physical performances from his cast, Leon managed to put together a fun, quirky story that feels to give a nod to the comedic style abundantly found in French comedies, which can be quite literal with a little surprise thrown in here and there. This style seems perfect for this type of short. As we, the viewers, experience the film through Yasmin’s eyes, Leon also incorporates absurd scenarios originating from her troubled thoughts while in a confused state.

Leon toys around with the stressful and exciting time couples go through in the time before their wedding. Aside from the comedy, there is also social commentary regarding the evolution of conformity surrounding relationships. But as this is a spoiler-free review, I’ll leave certain things for you to find out when watching the film.

To sum up, even though it can be said that this type of comedy caters to specific audiences, For Life is a fun film that not only showcases wonderful performances, fairly impressive production value and well executed cinematography, but it also, by successfully following a tense thriller with a comedy, testifies to Leon’s versatile range as a storyteller.

For Life was officially selected to thirty-eight festivals around the world and won Two Awards including the Best Comedy Award at RATMA Film Festival in the UK. It is also is a Hebrew speaking film with English subtitles. It is now available for viewing on AngerMan Distribution’s VOD channel, link at top of page.

For Life, gets 7.5/10 on the Look At Me I’m A Film Critic scale!

I was fortunate enough to be a crew member on this film as well, and despite an injured back at the time, it too, was an unforgettable experience.

Last, but not least! 2018’s Comedy short First Night Together!

A dialogue-less film, that leans on its wonderful visuals to tell a somewhat familiar experience.

A young girl, portrayed by Dana Fried is having her apparent new lover, played by Dotan Gur stay at her place overnight for the first time. As she is understandably taken out of her comfort zone, and is forced to adjust to new circumstances which are preventing her from falling asleep, Leon shows us how she experiences her discomfort in a somewhat unusual way.

The girl goes through a series of metaphoric visualizations of the different annoying new obstacles she is forced to face from the man who now shares her bed.

As her frustration rises, her night turns out to be a futile attempt to get some sleep.

In only 3-minutes of run-time, this is a fun heartwarming film that uses universal language to convey its message. Other than that, it continues to show Leon’s evolving visual storytelling range. There is much care placed on the cinematography here, a necessity when there is no dialogue. Oron Cohen again shows great skill behind the camera and the teaming of of Leon and Oron seems like a positive union of cinematic vision.

First Night Together, gets a 7.5/10 on the Look At Me I’m A Film Critic scale!

The film is just starting its festival run, so we wish the best to Leon, Oron and all involved, and will keep all of you posted on its release.

Until next time, keep supporting Indie film. My name is Asaf Angel. I thank you for tuning in to MyIndie Review Vlog for the past seven plus months, please keep doing that. I’ll see you next week!