The Lost Comrade (1933)

Overview

The first feature film produced in pre-state Israel. This newly-restored silent film tells the story of a boy from a Moshav who goes on a daytrip with his classmates and gets lost on the way, having adventures in the Jezreel Valley as well as encounters with Bedouins, an eccentric tourist and various animals. “Today, 78 years after its making,” Ha’aretz film critic Uri Klein wrote recently, “the major interest in watching the film stems from its attempt to deal with the conflict between the collective and the individual.” Upon its initial release, the film was praised by both the public and critics: "A cornerstone for the Hebrew cinema was laid yesterday," announced Doar Hayom after the film's premiere at Jerusalem's Zion Cinema. Released in the USA in 1934 as THE LOST COMRADE, with an added opening sequence and narration in English, as well as songs and snatches of dialogue in Hebrew.