Concerned Citizen
Gentrification and liberalism clash in Idan Haguel’s satirical gay drama set in Tel Aviv.
Gay films are not at all uncommon now and Concerned Citizen is not the first such movie to reach us from Israel but it can claim to be unusual on two counts. The first of these lies in the fact that the actors Shlomi Bertonov and Ariel Wolf who appear in it as an established gay couple, Ben and Raz, are similarly paired in real life. The other notable point – and the far more significant one in terms of what Concerned Citizen has to offer – is that, although Ben is the central character here (the focus being rather more on him than on Raz), he is viewed through a critical lens. That a film designed to have gay appeal can present its leading figure as somebody with human failings is to be welcomed as a sign that such a character no longer needs to be idealised in pursuit of promoting a liberal attitude to homosexuality. It's an approach possible in a world where homophobia is much less marked than it once was and it suggests maturity. But, ironically, the serious flaw in Concerned Citizen is that, despite setting out in this way, the writing totally fails to live up to it.
The important fact about the location in which Concerned Citizen is set is that it is an area of Tel Aviv in which gentrification has just started to take hold and newly designed buildings are beginning to appear. Ben and Raz are lucky enough to be relatively affluent but not rich enough to buy an apartment in the wealthier parts of the city. Consequently, they are amongst the first to move in and find themselves living alongside much poorer people including immigrants from Africa. The film’s opening scene shows Ben planting a tree in the street outside their secured apartment block and, as it turns out, this has consequences. One night he looks out and sees two black youths chatting beside the tree and leaning on it. He goes so far as to telephone the police requesting them to check out the situation. Later on, drawn to the window by noises from below, he looks out and sees the police pursuing and attacking a youth who has tried to elude them by running away. That his action should have had such an extreme result makes him feel guilty and, hiding his identity and his involvement, he calls up the police describing himself as a concerned citizen and asks what happened to the victim of the assault.
Although the story told here is essentially dramatic, the film is one that satirises those like Ben who claim to have a liberal outlook and want to be seen in that light, but who in reality are too self-centred to live up to the image that they claim to espouse. Even when describing what he has witnessed to his therapist (Ilan Hazan), Ben conceals how he himself contributed to it. Even if there is a humorous aspect to this, Concerned Citizen is essentially dealing with a serious subject as it traces the consequences of Ben's guilty feelings and finds him coming into closer contact with the immigrant families around him. But, while this could have been an involving study of a man made by circumstance to recognise the facade that he has adopted and to see things in a new light, the film never goes to the heart of this. Instead, it favours a superficial resolution with some comeuppance for the police and plays down the extent of the lesson that Ben should have learnt.
However, the weaknesses of this film go beyond this central failure in that the characters around Ben and Raz remain underdeveloped. On top of that, what should be a sub-plot about the couple going to an agency as part of a plan to find a surrogate to provide them with a child leads nowhere, albeit that it does provide the film with a final image. Furthermore, although the issue of gentrification has a key role in the story, there is no depth and richness in the film’s depiction of it (the 2019 documentary The Street set in the Hoxton area of London was so much more insightful in this respect). Add that Shlomi Bertonov’s unengaging manner as Ben leaves one uncertain how intentional this was (it fits the character but doesn't provide any depth) and one has to conclude that Concerned Citizen is a missed opportunity. It's a film sufficiently unusual to have definite potential, but it falls far short of what it might have been. Nevertheless, it is only fair to mention that it won awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival both for its script and for its music score.
Original title: Ezrah Mudag.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Shlomi Bertonov, Ariel Wolf, Lena Fraifeld, Ilan Hazan, Uriah Jablonowsky, Yshelu Gebremkiel, Flora Bloch, Idan Hubel, Yael Rozenblit, Or Butbul, Shahaf Ifhar, Meni Rapoprt.
Dir Idan Haguel, Pro Idan Haguel, Gil Sima, Binyamin Gurevitch and Itay Akirav, Screenplay Idan Haguel, Ph Guy Sahaf, Pro Des Shaked Naor, Ed Shaul Melamed, Music Zoe Polanski.
M-Appeal/Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts/Israel Film Council-Peccadillo Pictures.
81 mins. Israel. 2022. UK Rel: 23 January 2023. Available on digital platforms. No Cert.
