Chris Marker’s documentary portrays Israel twelve years after its founding, blending location and archival footage to explore its diverse communities—from kibbutzim and Arab villages to Orthodox quarters and tourist sites. The “struggle” of the title reflects the nation’s search for identity in a rapidly changing region.
Ten engaged observations of the city, before it was united.
In Search of Ladino follows Ladino speakers, their culture, their memories and hopes for their mother tongue. This unique film is one of the earliest works presenting Ladino-speaking Holocaust survivors in Israel, and it provides rare documentation of their testimonies and songs. Filmmaker David Perlov’s camera glances on the faces of the people, as he listens carefully to their stories and songs. The film was meant to be part of a trilogy about languages: Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino, but Perlov only managed to make the first film.