Stars:
Lior Ashkenazi,
Knut Berger,
Caroline Peters,
Gideon Shemer,
Hanns Zischler,
Ernest Lenart,
Carola Regnier
Director:
Eytan Fox
Summary: Eytan Fox's follow-up to his acclaimed YOSSI & JAGGER is a profound, multilayered drama hidden in the guise of a genre picture. Eyal (Lior Ashkenazi of LATE MARRIAGE) is a successful Mossad special agent whose heartlessness makes him an exceptional hit man. It also hinders his ability to connect with those closest to him. When his wife commits suicide, Eyal is thrown into a mental tailspin. His latest assignment finds him playing tour guide for two German siblings whose Nazi grandfather may or may not still be alive. Pia (Carolina Peters) has left her homeland and family out of shame for what her grandfather did, while Alex (Knut Berger) is an easygoing liberal whose open-mindedness bothers Eyal. Without realising it, Eyal finds himself forming a close bond with Pia and Alex, until he realises that Alex is gay. After a bitter farewell, Eyal manages to swallow his pride and visit Alex in Berlin, where he confronts his family's own awful past. In the process, the mystery surrounding Alex's criminal grandfather is revealed. WALK ON WATER is a difficult film to categorise, addressing several major issues at once (homophobia, guilt, reconciliation with the past, politics, and more). Despite its complexity, Gal Uchovsky's assured script and Fox's sure-handed direction keep it together. Ashkenazi, Peters, and Berger also add greatly to the film, effortlessly inhabiting their characters and making them heartbreakingly three-dimensional figures.