Acomicandepisodicsatire,thefilmusesimprovisationtoillustratetheclashbetweenfantasyandrealityinreallife.AlthoughconceivedinthestyleofMekas'"Hallelujahthehills"(1962),it'sanauthenticallyIsraelisatire,anopenlyrebelliousandindividualisticexpressionthatpokedfunatthesacredmythsofearlierzionistfilms.Thetechniqueoffilmwithinthefilmisusedtoportraycinemaasreflectionoftheimagination,amiraclebasedondreamsandfantasiesthattakeonconcretecharacteristics-paralleltothemiracleofIsrael,thedreamthathasbecomereality.Althoughnotacommercialsuccess,itsimportanceisbeyondanymeasure,thoughitremainsauniqueexperiment,boldlyuncommercialandsubversive,outofanycontextinthatpatriotic,ideologicalepoch. Anewimmigrant,Tzelnik,arrivesattheportofJaffa.HegoestoliveintheNegevdesertwhereheopensakioskinthemiddleofnowhere.Mizrachicomesalongandopensacompetingbusinessacrosstheway.Thetwomakealivingbysellingtoeachother.Asthereisnothingthere,theydecidetocreateaworldoutoftheirimagination.Theybuildacardboardfilmset,whichslowlytakesonrealdimensions-thebuildingsturntoconcrete,peoplecometoauditionforpartsinthe"film"(cinemaveritéstyle,withZoharmockingviciouslythepretensionsofthe"actresses")andbuilderscometobuildappartmentbuildings(mockingtheglorificationofconcreteand "heroic"settlement).Inonesequence,Arabactorscomeandaskthefilmmakersturnpositivetonegative,andthey'regiventheroleofpioneerswhoplowthelandandsingzionistsongs.Theimaginedworldofthefilmmakersbecomessorealeventuallytheylosesightofthethinlinebetweenfantasyandreality. Alongthewaytherearealsomanyreferencestootherfilmsandgenres:thesamuraiflicksofKurosawa,westerns,thepopfilmsbyRichardlester,themealscenefromTomJonesandmanyothers. Thefilmwasmadebyabunchof(verytalented)friendsZohargathered,andtheyshotitwiththeirownfunds,asa“collectiveflick”,anotheraspectofitthatsetsitapartfromtherestoftheproductioninthecountry.
