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Yana's Friends

Play trailer Poster for Yana's Friends 1999 1h 30m Romance Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
As Iraqi scud missiles fly overhead and an entire country locks itself into airtight rooms, Yana (Evelyn Kaplun) and her fellow Russians wrestle with the challenges facing them in their new life in Israel during the Gulf War. Yana's husband has left her and she shares an apartment with Eli (Nir Levy), a photographer with a passion for casual sex. While in threat of poisonous gas their stories merge and love blossoms.
Yana's Friends

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A heartwarming movie that handles some weighty subjects with humor.

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Critics Reviews

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Desson Thomson Washington Post The movie won 10 Israeli Academy Awards and prizes at various film festivals. It's easy to see why. Nov 15, 2002 Full Review Jane Sumner Dallas Morning News Warm, bittersweet and charming. Rated: B+ Jul 11, 2002 Full Review Damon Smith Boston Globe A tender, spirited look at love and community in the midst of war. Rated: 3/4 Jun 21, 2002 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 4/5 Aug 3, 2005 Full Review Jamie Gillies Apollo Guide Portrays not only the fear that Israelis live with every day, but also the difficulties in a nation where people are arriving from all over the world, not knowing Hebrew. Rated: 71/100 Feb 9, 2004 Full Review Greg Muskewitz eFilmCritic.com Rated: 3/5 Dec 22, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David H I enjoyed the oddball cast of characters, plus it gave me a little insight into what it's like to live in Israel as an immigrant. Not a bad film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/04/22 Full Review Audience Member This is a lovely romantic comedy which made me laugh in many scenes. I think you need to see it yourself and not read a sypnosis on it. Highly recommended. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely lo-o-o-o-ved the 'Russian' characters :))) And the ending can't leave anyone indifferent Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the more twisted love plots I've run across. Funny and twistd. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member It's hard to like a film when one doesn't really sympathize with few (if any) of the characters. I've seen worse Israeli films, but I have also seen many that are far better. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member it's no surprise that this wonderful Israeli film collected so many Israeli oscars. Moments of humor are balanced by moments of pathos as the characters endure difficulties and successes, ups and downs, in their daily lives during the Gulf War. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Yana's Friends

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Cast & Crew

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Arik Kaplun

Director

Evelyn Kaplun

Yana

Nir Levy

Eli

Shmil Ben-Ari

Yuri Kalantarov

Mosko Alkalai

Yitzhak

Dalia Friedland

Rosa

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Yana's Friends

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Movie Info

Synopsis As Iraqi scud missiles fly overhead and an entire country locks itself into airtight rooms, Yana (Evelyn Kaplun) and her fellow Russians wrestle with the challenges facing them in their new life in Israel during the Gulf War. Yana's husband has left her and she shares an apartment with Eli (Nir Levy), a photographer with a passion for casual sex. While in threat of poisonous gas their stories merge and love blossoms.
Director
Arik Kaplun
Producer
Anat Bikel, Moshe Levinson, Marek Rozenbaum, Uri Sabag
Screenwriter
Arik Kaplun, Simon Vinokur
Distributor
Friends of Film
Production Co
Paralight Ltd., Transfax Film Productions, Israeli Film Fund
Genre
Romance, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 5, 1999, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Feb 25, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.0K
Runtime
1h 30m