Himmo, King of Jerusalem (Hebrew: חימו מלך ירושלים, tr. Himmo Melech Yerushalaim) is a 1987 Israeli independent underground dramatic art film directed by Amos Guttman.[1] It was adapted by Edna Mazia from an eponymous 1966 novel by Yoram Kaniuk,[2]
Plot
The film is set in an abandoned monastery-turned-clinic (the film was shot at the Monastery of the Cross), unfolds during the siege of Jerusalem in 1948. The protagonist is the enigmatic Himmo Perach (Ofer Shikartsi),[3] a mortally wounded and mutilated soldier and former charismatic philanderer who cannot speak (except when he asks to be shot, though nobody in the monastery has the courage to do so) or move as he had most of his limbs removed without anesthesia due to severe shortages. A young and beautiful volunteer nurse, Hamutal Horowitz (Alona Kimhi), is romantically drawn to Himmo. Jealousy amongst the other patients, all in love with Hamutal though receiving only professional care, soon begins to emerge.[4]
Journalist Meir Schnitzer dismissed the film for its "lack of plot" and "visual ugliness",[7] and similar pontifications were voiced by other journalists such as Gidi Orsher [he], who dismissed its "pretentiousness" and called it a stain on the Israeli film "industry",[8] and Nachman Ingber [he], who called it “miserable, tiring, heavy, a boring and slow film in which nothing happens” and complained that it utilized "too much dialogue and too little action".[9]
Outside Israel, where the film was distributed by the National Center for Jewish Film, TV Guide also dismissed the "stagy, with a fair amount of speechmaking" approach.[10] The film was released on DVD in Israel by Third Ear DVDs [he] as part of a boxset containing the complete filmography of Guttman[11] and an equivalent boxset was released in France by Bach Films [fr].[12] Several nowadays notable Israeli film people, such as Rony Gruber, Samuel Maoz, Shva Salhoov, and Shahar Segal [he] started out as crew bit parts on this film.
^Ido, Amatzya (7 October 1987). עופר שב משדה־הקרב [Ofer Returns From Battlefield] (PDF). Yedioth Ahronoth’s Kol Haifa (in Hebrew). Rishon LeZion: Yedioth Ahronoth Group. p. 16. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^Schnitzer, Meir (October 1987). איפה אל״ף? איפה בי״ת? [No ABCs] (PDF) (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv-Yafo: Hadashot. p. 23. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
^Ingber, Nachman (16 October 1987). יש עשן בלי אש [Smoke Without Fire] (PDF). Yedioth Ahronoth (in Hebrew). Rishon LeZion: Yedioth Ahronoth Group. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^Guttman, Amos (1 June 2007). עמוס גוטמן: האוסף המלא [Amos Guttman: Complete Filmography] (DVD) (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv-Yafo: Third Ear DVDs. OCLC885305029. Reported in: Yudilovitch, Merav [he]. יודילוביץ', מרב (10 June 2007). סיפור חייו בקופסא [His Life Story in a Boxset]. Yedioth Ahronoth's Ynet (in Hebrew). Rishon LeZion: Yedioth Ahronoth Group. Retrieved 23 August 2021. Weizmann, Daniel (1 November 2012). דיוידנדים: עמוס גוטמן – מהארון אל המדף [Dividends: Amos Guttman – From the Closet to the Shelf]. Yedioth Ahronoth's Ynet (in Hebrew). Rishon LeZion: Yedioth Ahronoth Group. Retrieved 23 August 2021. Tom Shoval [he]. חסד של אמת [A Truthful Grace]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv-Yafo: M. DuMont Schauberg and Haaretz Group's Schocken Group [he]. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2021. Dan Lachman [he]. עמוס גוטמן – מארז אסופת סרטיו [Amos Guttman – A Boxset of His Collected Films]. E-Mago [he] (in Hebrew). 9 February 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2021. Reprinted as: Lachman, Dan (16 July 2007). רק על עצמו לספר ידע [He Only Knew How to Talk About Himself]. GoGay [he] (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^Guttman, Amos (21 March 2014). Amos Guttman: L’intégrale [Amos Guttman: Complete Filmography] (DVD) (in French and Hebrew). Paris: Bach Films. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
Himmo, King of Jerusalem. In: Kaufman, Deborah (1991). Plotkin, Janis; Orenstein, Rena (eds.). A Guide to Films Featured in the Jewish Film Festival. Berkeley, California: Jewish Film Festival. pp. 30−31. OCLC25527469. Reprinted in: Plotkin, Janis (1996). Libresco, Caroline; Feiger, Josh (eds.). Independent Jewish Film: A Resource Guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, California: San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. p. 71. ISBN9780965068802. OCLC36119531.