Hot Button "Campfire"

This Israeli film, directed by Joseph Cedar, mixes elements of Alison Anders's Gas Food Lodging with the hot button issue of West Bank settlements. Like "Gas Food Lodging," "Campfire," which is set in 1981, tracks a single mother and her two daughters as they struggle in life and love. Both films contain the same gentle humor and pacing. The films differ, of course, on the political issue. In "Campfire," also known as "Medurat Hashevet," the mother tries to get accepted by an ever cliquish settlement board. I was pleasantly surprised by the flick; I went because I had seen everything else showing at the theater. So, yes, my expectations were quite low, but, despite that, I recommend this film.