Happy Ending

The Bollywood fare “in which the poor guy got the girl and everything ended happily” defines his own cinematic vision. Eran focuses on the positive side even when he deals with social dilemmas. Stalin’s Disciple, a 1983 film that he screened in Delhi this week, focuses on a kibbutz in which Stalin is considered the son of God. Instead of a scathing criticism of the dictator, Eran highlights the naivete of his shoemaker protagonists who sport Stalin moustaches and try to spot the Sputnik through binoculars. “Films can change the audience’s way of thinking, it can change the world,” he says. Stalin’s Disciple had raked in awards, with Gorbachev inviting Eran for a private screening at his palace.

“I was a teacher before a friend asked me to help him produce a film,” Eran reminisces. That film, Fun Forever, was a runaway hit and he stayed on with cinema, turning his attention to Israel’s social problems. His Overdose was the first Israeli film dealing with drug abuse among its teenagers, Ingil talked about violence in schools while God’s Sandbox was the first film to address female castration. “Though my films dealt with Israel, the subjects seemed to find a resonance across the world,” he says.

Eran continues social documentation in the films and documentaries of 2009 as well. We’re Still Alive turns the camera to bereaved parents who have donated their dead children’s organs to help other sick kids. Cold Feet is a romantic comedy about love, marriage and everything in between. Through a long night, a deserted groom and a deserting bride seek their happy ending. So Bollywood!