Vers Jérusalem
( Nach Jerusalem )

Ruth Beckermann
1990 - 87 min - 16 mm - Couleur - Autriche

After "Return to Vienna", and "The Paper bridge towards Jerusalem" is the third and last part of an inquiry into the Jewish dilemma of our century. "Towards Jerusalem" – modern road in a modern country. A documentary road movie : cars, trucks, construction workers, soldiers, gas stations... In a mere 40 miles we cross a many landscape with a myriad of ethnic groups living side by side. This film is a jigsaw puzzle of Israel that does not limit itself to the present conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, but primarily revolves around the question of what happened to the dream of a Jewish homeland. Behind all this resounds the perennial longing for Jerusalem, a longing that represents more than just a spot on the map.
On the road with cinematographer Nurith Aviv, Ruth Beckermann finds her takes by chance : Levantine street-fairs in Tel Aviv ; Palestinian laborers radiating Oriental concepts of time. So close and yet worlds apart – the Mazz-bakery operated by Lubavich Hasidim.