The Matchmaker

2010

1h 52m

Drama

List

88%

25 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1968 a teenage boy starts working for a Holocaust survivor who acts as a matchmaker, and both of their lives change forever.

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Critics Consensus

Once I Was (The Matchmaker) nimbly juggles light dramedy and real-world horror in a coming-of-age story with an impactfully unusual perspective.

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Audience Member

Lost for words! Such a great movie!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/29/18

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a lovely, sweet, Israeli coming-of-age film set in 1968 Haifa. Beautifully written, acted, and photographed, the film works on many levels, as a comedy, a survivor's tale, and a fable. Kudos to writer-director Avi Nesher and lead actors Adir Miller and Maya Dagan, who won best actor and best actress awards from the Israeli Film Academy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

A cute Israeli Rom-com.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

Set in 1968, this is a lighthearted Israeli film is infused with a smidgen of mystery and built on the difficult memories of the Holocaust. The teenaged protagonist learns about love ("why do Americans protest 'make love not war'. Wasn't there more important things than love?", he asks.) from a matchmaker and a free-spirited girl visiting for the summer.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is quite an engaging film -- a mash-up and a throwback to the kind of Israeli films made in the seventies. The usual themes are there - Holocaust survivor tales, coming of age in an old / new land -- complex characters whose secrets reveal themselves as the plot unfolds. "The Matchmaker"'s Hebrew title is "Once upon a time..." which may be more appropriate, because it tells a tale with a beginning, middle and not so-satisfying end. For Israel buffs, this may be just your cup of tea... with a cube of sugar in your teeth!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An elegantly told tale - enjoyable for the subtle layering of multiple plots and of human memory. The dialogues are a treat and so is the pace - for a movie that lasts almost 2 hours, there is not a moment of dullness.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

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Avi Nesher

Director

Adir Miller

Yankele Bride

Dror Keren

Meir the Librarian

Dov Navon

Yozi Burstein

Yarden Bar-Kochba

Nili Burstein

Maya Dagan

Clara Epstein

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John Hartl

Seattle Times

The shadow of the Holocaust hangs over this unique Israeli coming-of-age film, which deals with a special kind of survivor's guilt.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 14, 2013

Full Review

Walter V. Addiego

San Francisco Chronicle

Nesher ... has a populist touch, showing a sure hand with the numerous subplots and never allowing us to lose sight of his characters' humanity, even the mostly pathetic villain of the piece.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 14, 2012

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This is a sweet, bittersweet comedy, well-executed if perhaps a little heavy on anecdotage.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 13, 2012

Full Review

Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

[The Matchmaker] succeeds on two levels -- as a Middle East coming-of-age fable during a period of cultural change, and a rare view of Holocaust survivors in Israel learning to live and love again.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 24, 2016

Full Review

Hannah Brown

Jerusalem Post

This immensely pleasurable and moving film manages to weave the many strands of its plot to create a portrait of Israel in 1968 that sheds light on the country today, and does so without sacrificing drama to polemics.

Mar 21, 2016

Full Review

Mark Zhuravsky

The Playlist

At heart an unexpectedly complex film about love, but also an examination of Israel in flux, a country with one foot in the past and another in the future - a weight that may never fully vacate Israeli shoulders.

Rated: B+

Mar 14, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1968 a teenage boy starts working for a Holocaust survivor who acts as a matchmaker, and both of their lives change forever.

Director: Avi Nesher
Producer: Chilik Michaeli, Avi Nesher, David Silber, Ishay Mor
Screenwriter: Avi Nesher
Production Co: United Channel Movies, Artomas Communications, Metro Communications
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Hebrew
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 2, 2014
Runtime: 1h 52m

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