By Pat Burns – Grand Magazine film reporter
How many times have you ever said those words? Maybe it was someone coming in the door. Or calls you on the phone. In this case, IS THAT YOU? is a romantic story that tells the tale of a Ronnie, a 60 year old Israeli film projectionist, who has been fired from his job and is going now to the U.S. in search of Rachel, the love of his youth. IS THAT YOU? is primarily Ronnie’s journey on “The Road Not Taken” but along the way we meet others wondering on similar paths. The audience joins the ride in search of answers to life’s “what ifs”, “regrets” and ultimately locating lost love before it’s sadly too late.
Along Ronnie’s path he befriends a young, female, film student working on her documentary, coincidentally, about regrets. The film’s unfolding of this multigenerational relationship is tender and delivers the storyline deeper that regrets are not just for the elderly but ensue at any age.
Dani Menkin shoots this film with the look and feel of a documentary which he is known for with his other works. (HBO Cinemax-39 Pounds of Love, Je Taime, I Love You Terminal, Dolphin Boy) The film’s message of defining life’s one big regret smacks you on the side of the head with after effects lingering long after the film ends. Reality sets in with the realization that most people live their lives with something to regret. The challenge is whether or not to do something about it.
Click here for the audio interview with Director Dani Menkin
Director: Dani Menkin
Screenplay: Dani Menkin, Eshkol Nevo
Running time: 81 minutes
Genre: Drama
Awards: Best Picture nominee – Israeli Academy (Ophir) Awards, 2014
Official Site: http://heyjudeproductions.com/isthatyou.html
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?index=2&list=UUQwpRb3YmntrHS0MXwxpPMw&v=jVOIrcH51UE&app=desktop