Hessed Mufla

Original title:	Hessed Mufla
Year:	1992
Country:	Israel
Time:	95 minutes
Director:	Amos Guttman
Local Website:	imdb.com/title/tt0104414/
Set in Tel Aviv, this intense, melancholy drama focuses on Jonathan, a gangly and romantic gay teenager who faces an early-life crisis when he finds himself abandoned by his lover. Frustrated by his self-absorbed mother and horde of pot-head friends who invade his apartment, Jonathan's passions are rekindled after he befriends Thomas, the handsome, HIV-positive older son of his upstairs neighbor. Their budding yet tentative relationship provides the backdrop for this ambitious, thought-provoking social and sexual drama which touches upon such issues as AIDS, death, drug abuse, the gay milieu of Tel Aviv and family dyfunctionalism. Although the film overreaches, it remains a serious, thought-provoking gay drama. Amos Gutman, the filmmaker, died of AIDS in 1993 shortly after the release of this film. (Hebrew with English subtitles)