Yossi & Jagger (2002)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Powerful

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This film is about the secret love affair between two male soldiers in the Israeli army, who are stationed in the front line."Yossi & Jagger" has been talked about by many for years as a really good gay film. I was slightly disappointed by the slow build up, wondering where all the praise comes from. However, the last ten or fifteen minutes blew me away completely. There are a lot of emotions and yet so little drama. There are no hysterical crying scenes or angry outbursts at how fate turns out. There are only subtle, unspoken, introspective scenes for viewers to feel the characters' pain. I really enjoyed watching "Yossi & Jagger", and the sequel will be on my list to watch.

This is a very intelligent and well made movie, clearly a lower budgeted production but with far more thought and effort (as well as obviously more resources) than many other independent films. However, it is more a snap shots (or more accurately a series of snapshots), than a true film, more of a very extend short than a complete cinematic tale.The performances are excellent throughout. The visuals and locations are put to good use; the biggest problems are some glaring weaknesses in the plots (for example, the role of the two women; this is not the role you imagine nor you come to see is accurate, of women in the military in Israel); as well, the conclusion is to be expected from the second half of the film, when the superior officer arrives and insists on the ambush. However, in spite of these and some other minor plot weaknesses, including the spareness of the film, it's overall enjoyable and recommended, particular for the performances, some of which are genuinely excellent.

I just watched Yossi & Jagger last night with my spouse. We have been watching other more worthy fare during the holidays and when we got to Yossi & Jagger I was expecting something special as foreign films often supply. I was very disappointed. There were too many characters and a contrived dramatic ending where you knew the outcome even before the final scene. There were some funny moments and some tender moments but there were also too many distractions from what should have been the heart of the movie - the romance between Yossi & Jagger. Other commenters have noted that they were only alone for brief moments in the movie and more time was spent digging a hole to dump spoiled food into than their relationship. More time was spent with desperate women on the hunt for man flesh in rather inappropriate ways. All in all, it was a let down. I was never given the opportunity to connect with any of the characters and as such I never cared what happened to them. It simply didn't matter in the end. I would recommend "Bent" or "Breakfast with Scot" or "Maurice" for those interested in the genre.

One would think that for a pacifist lesbian living (thank God) in a country at peace, a story about two gay soldiers on the Israeli-Lebanon border would be just slightly more than a curiosity. But this film does make its effect. It's not American style, there are no big stars with toothpaste-ad smiles, and the two guys do spend very little time together, but every time they are in the same place one feels the suppressed desire any homosexual can experience in an environment where s/he has to act straight. The scene in the snow is thus not only the victory of joy and will to live over war (because we aren't allowed to forget these guys are in a war area), but also the liberation one feels when one is finally allowed to express feelings forbidden by society. The other painfully familiar scene is the last one - being in the home of your beloved and pretending to be some distant acquaintance. Been there, done that. I'm glad the story doesn't have a happy ending. Based on other films from Israel about homosexuality and the general atmosphere there, it can't have had one.