By Laurie Baron
SAN DIEGO─ Americans are accustomed to reading headlines about the military might and victories of the Israel Defense Force. Like all armies, however, its day-to-day operations are less about combat and more about bureaucracy, discipline, and tedium. Zero Motivation humorously capitalizes on the interpersonal tensions among an administrative unit of women soldiers which maintains personnel files and shreds documents.
Within this motley crew, Zohar played by Dana Ivgy mocks her superiors and her paper disposal duties. She devotes her life to playing the computer game Minesweeper until she decides to lose her virginity to fit in better with her roommates. Her best friend Daffi performed by Nelly Tagar spends most of her time trying to obtain a transfer away from the Negev army base where she is stationed to cosmopolitan Tel Aviv. When her requests go unanswered, she enlists in officer training school hoping that this will secure her a posting in the city. Daffi and Zohar delight in defying their punctilious supervisor Rama played by Shani Klein who is always trying to impress her male superiors to earn a promotion.
Add the beautiful Russian-born Irena (Tamara Klingon) who assumes the role of Zohar’s sexual mentor before she becomes possessed by the dybbuk of a bunkmate who committed suicide, and you have the makings of many comedic moments culminating in the sabotage of the filing system and a fight between returning officer Daffi and her subordinate Zohar conducted with staple guns.
Though the IDF prides itself on its egalitarianism, the movie exposes the sexist attitudes and acts of the men in its ranks. Male commanders expect the women to make and serve coffee while ogling their derrieres. Zohar’s quest to lose her virginity leads to an attempted rape. Nevertheless, these women find clever ways to subvert the gender abuse they encounter.
Zero Motivation earned twelve nominations and six wins from the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, including awards for Lavie as best director and Ivgy as best actress. Given how the press either portrays the IDF as a brutal occupying force or an invincible army, the film reminds audiences that most of its soldiers are just young conscripted adults grappling with their own identities. It successfully mines the mirth behind the myth. Zero Motivation will open at the Ken Cinema on January 16 where it is scheduled to play for only one week.
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Baron is a professor emeritus of history at San Diego State University. Your comment may be posted in the box provided below, or you may contact the author directly at lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com Another review of this film, by Cynthia Citron, was posted January 11, 2015