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Walk on water -- moral revolutions are not always sudden and violent
By Antonio Fabrizio
Posted: Oct 22, 2006
The movie Walk on water (Israel, 2004), by Israeli Eytan Fox, is a story of friendship, differences and
tolerance. It focuses on the lives of three different people and the unexpected way they bump into one
another, changing their lives forever.
On one hand, there’s Eyal: he is an Israeli agent who kills terrorists, but after his wife’s death, he is
assigned a “lighter” job: he has to track down an old German who was a former Nazi officer, but who
had managed to take refuge abroad. Eyal’s mission is to find the man by befriending his two
grandchildren, and to kill him.
Axel and Pia, on the other hand, seek to achieve their own “spiritual” purposes: Pia leaves Germany
soon after realizing her family is hiding her ex-Nazi grandfather and then moves to Israel. Axel, instead,
the younger one, lives in Berlin, is a homosexual and is visiting his sister in Israel to convince her to
return to Berlin for their father’s birthday. Moreover, he does know nothing about their family history.
The encounter between Axel, Eyal and Pia will be the beginning of a new phase in their lives; Eyal, in
particular, will experience the greatest change, realizing that he cannot kill any longer, and that he can
count on others, giving and receiving sincere friendship. Axel and Pia will show him an unexpected way
to “redemption”.
From a social viewpoint, “Walk on water” is an experiment of combinations: it explores and combines
relationships between different people, trying to see what happens when members of opposite groups
meet and exchange experiences. There’s a cultural combination, between Jewish and Germans,
Jewish and Palestinians, Germans and Palestinians; as well as a genre combination, between a
homosexual and a heterosexual, and between a man and a woman.
The theme of new generations who have received a tough inheritance – the guiltiness of being
Germans on one hand, the burden of being Jewish on the other – highlights that radical changes may
occur and free people from their past. Young people may have escaped from a past which doesn’t
belong to them - that’s Pia’s case - because that seems the easiest way to obtain a complete
renovation. Yet, when they understand how involved and somehow responsible they are, they are also
ready to admit their ancestors’ faults - that’s Axel’s case, because he is the one who is going to make
the most radical and unexpected action in the movie.
Eyal, on the other hand, acknowledges that Holocaust is a painful injury, but also that it belongs to the
past; Fox, in fact, tries to highlight that for Israeli people Germany does not mean any longer Nazism;
and by using two entirely constructive characters, Pia and Axel, he seems to acknowledge that
Germany has now become one of the countries where human and civil rights are a distinctive
landmark.
Focusing on this issue gives an overall positive message: moral revolutions are not always sudden
and violent; they may require many years, but without hurting anybody. There must be, sometimes, a
generational change, in order to purify minds and hearts; but eventually the grave curse may be cut off.
The background of bombs reminds, instead, what are the current concerns for Israel: everyday there’s
an attack, with some people injured or killed, and a persistent state of semi-war, warning them from
feeling safe. However, more than suggesting that a curse on Israeli people still continues, the
conclusion of the movie tries to draw a less negative message: it may imply that there’s still need of
time, to allow Israeli people to find a modus vivendi in a region where their presence has still difficulty
in being accepted.
The situation in Lebanon - which inevitably comes to the mind during the movie - witnesses how
delicate this cohabitation is, and how hard it is to find a long-lasting solution through a reciprocal
legitimization. Yet only involving the international community, Israel is likely to find a way to end up the
perilous fight against its neighbours: as the movie suggests, thanks to the German young man, who
represents the neutral party, the Palestinian guy and the Israeli guy can talk and even sit in the same
car, and even if they do not get along, the Palestinian guy is witnessing a wish of radical change, of
“putting past back”, a message which, being not answered, remains suspended and works as a
blinking light throughout the remaining part of the movie.
“Walk on water” is also a story of friendship between two men, Eyal, who is heterosexual, and Axel,
who is homosexual. Their different sexual orientation never becomes an obstacle to their relationship.
Axel never tries to seduce Eyal; he is, instead, a very respectful of him and has some highly positive
values: he teaches children, knows a lot about Jewish culture and tries to understand both Israeli and
Palestinian viewpoints, admitting that people may be very desperate to kill themselves when they
provoke kamikaze attacks.
Eyal, on the other hand, does not consider Axel’s homosexuality as a barrier to their friendship: the
German guy challenges his values and “enlightens” him.
That is going to be Eyal’s redemption: he does change, by marrying Pia, who witnesses throughout the
entire movie the need of a physical and mental trip in search of the right place for herself, without
accepting to stay in a world and a place where she doesn’t feel at home. She refuses to live with her
parents, once she discovers that they have lied to her and are hiding her ex-Nazi grandfather, and finds
a place where she may really feel safe. Even if that place may be the most insecure in the world.
The outcome of all these combinations, then, is surprisingly positive: through an exchange of cultures
(past history, different foods, habits, music, dance) and experiences, the three characters gain
something that enriches their lives, and brings their personal message of peace and tolerance.
### ### ###
Antonio Fabrizio is a Global Affairs Intern, The Atlantic Affairs.
By Antonio Fabrizio
Posted: Oct 22, 2006
The movie Walk on water (Israel, 2004), by Israeli Eytan Fox, is a story of friendship, differences and
tolerance. It focuses on the lives of three different people and the unexpected way they bump into one
another, changing their lives forever.
On one hand, there’s Eyal: he is an Israeli agent who kills terrorists, but after his wife’s death, he is
assigned a “lighter” job: he has to track down an old German who was a former Nazi officer, but who
had managed to take refuge abroad. Eyal’s mission is to find the man by befriending his two
grandchildren, and to kill him.
Axel and Pia, on the other hand, seek to achieve their own “spiritual” purposes: Pia leaves Germany
soon after realizing her family is hiding her ex-Nazi grandfather and then moves to Israel. Axel, instead,
the younger one, lives in Berlin, is a homosexual and is visiting his sister in Israel to convince her to
return to Berlin for their father’s birthday. Moreover, he does know nothing about their family history.
The encounter between Axel, Eyal and Pia will be the beginning of a new phase in their lives; Eyal, in
particular, will experience the greatest change, realizing that he cannot kill any longer, and that he can
count on others, giving and receiving sincere friendship. Axel and Pia will show him an unexpected way
to “redemption”.
From a social viewpoint, “Walk on water” is an experiment of combinations: it explores and combines
relationships between different people, trying to see what happens when members of opposite groups
meet and exchange experiences. There’s a cultural combination, between Jewish and Germans,
Jewish and Palestinians, Germans and Palestinians; as well as a genre combination, between a
homosexual and a heterosexual, and between a man and a woman.
The theme of new generations who have received a tough inheritance – the guiltiness of being
Germans on one hand, the burden of being Jewish on the other – highlights that radical changes may
occur and free people from their past. Young people may have escaped from a past which doesn’t
belong to them - that’s Pia’s case - because that seems the easiest way to obtain a complete
renovation. Yet, when they understand how involved and somehow responsible they are, they are also
ready to admit their ancestors’ faults - that’s Axel’s case, because he is the one who is going to make
the most radical and unexpected action in the movie.
Eyal, on the other hand, acknowledges that Holocaust is a painful injury, but also that it belongs to the
past; Fox, in fact, tries to highlight that for Israeli people Germany does not mean any longer Nazism;
and by using two entirely constructive characters, Pia and Axel, he seems to acknowledge that
Germany has now become one of the countries where human and civil rights are a distinctive
landmark.
Focusing on this issue gives an overall positive message: moral revolutions are not always sudden
and violent; they may require many years, but without hurting anybody. There must be, sometimes, a
generational change, in order to purify minds and hearts; but eventually the grave curse may be cut off.
The background of bombs reminds, instead, what are the current concerns for Israel: everyday there’s
an attack, with some people injured or killed, and a persistent state of semi-war, warning them from
feeling safe. However, more than suggesting that a curse on Israeli people still continues, the
conclusion of the movie tries to draw a less negative message: it may imply that there’s still need of
time, to allow Israeli people to find a modus vivendi in a region where their presence has still difficulty
in being accepted.
The situation in Lebanon - which inevitably comes to the mind during the movie - witnesses how
delicate this cohabitation is, and how hard it is to find a long-lasting solution through a reciprocal
legitimization. Yet only involving the international community, Israel is likely to find a way to end up the
perilous fight against its neighbours: as the movie suggests, thanks to the German young man, who
represents the neutral party, the Palestinian guy and the Israeli guy can talk and even sit in the same
car, and even if they do not get along, the Palestinian guy is witnessing a wish of radical change, of
“putting past back”, a message which, being not answered, remains suspended and works as a
blinking light throughout the remaining part of the movie.
“Walk on water” is also a story of friendship between two men, Eyal, who is heterosexual, and Axel,
who is homosexual. Their different sexual orientation never becomes an obstacle to their relationship.
Axel never tries to seduce Eyal; he is, instead, a very respectful of him and has some highly positive
values: he teaches children, knows a lot about Jewish culture and tries to understand both Israeli and
Palestinian viewpoints, admitting that people may be very desperate to kill themselves when they
provoke kamikaze attacks.
Eyal, on the other hand, does not consider Axel’s homosexuality as a barrier to their friendship: the
German guy challenges his values and “enlightens” him.
That is going to be Eyal’s redemption: he does change, by marrying Pia, who witnesses throughout the
entire movie the need of a physical and mental trip in search of the right place for herself, without
accepting to stay in a world and a place where she doesn’t feel at home. She refuses to live with her
parents, once she discovers that they have lied to her and are hiding her ex-Nazi grandfather, and finds
a place where she may really feel safe. Even if that place may be the most insecure in the world.
The outcome of all these combinations, then, is surprisingly positive: through an exchange of cultures
(past history, different foods, habits, music, dance) and experiences, the three characters gain
something that enriches their lives, and brings their personal message of peace and tolerance.
### ### ###
Antonio Fabrizio is a Global Affairs Intern, The Atlantic Affairs.
| (c) 2006 New Criterion Foundation, London |
| Security. Ideologies. Multiculturalism. |