Beyond the Mountains and Hills is not an easy watch. It is slow, melancholic, and at times frustrating—just like the grieving process itself. However, it is a masterful study of how tragedy can paralyze a family and how silence can be louder than words.
Recommended if you like: Slow-burn dramas, films about family dynamics, and Israeli cinema like The Band’s Visit or Foxtrot.
Beyond the Mountains and Hills (original Hebrew title: Me'ever Laharim Vehagvaot ) is a 2016 Israeli drama film directed by Eran Kolirin , known for his previous work on The Band's Visit . It premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the "Un Certain Regard" section. Plot Overview
The story follows the Greenbaum family, a middle-class Israeli family living near Jerusalem, as they each navigate private existential crises: David (Alon Pdut):
A Lieutenant Colonel who retires after 27 years of military service. He struggles to adapt to a competitive civilian culture and becomes involved in a suspicious dietary supplement business. Rina (Shiree Nadav-Naor):
A high school literature teacher who, bored with her routine, begins an illicit affair with one of her students. Yifat (Mili Eshet): Beyond The Mountains And Hills 2016 Ok.ru
The teenage daughter and left-wing activist who starts a relationship with a young Palestinian man. Omri (Noam Imber):
The introverted younger son who eventually takes violent action after witnessing his family's fragmented lives.
Beyond the Mountains and Hills (2016) is a poignant Israeli drama directed by Eran Kolirin that explores the "shadow of guilt" haunting a middle-class family. Often shared on platforms like
for its deep social commentary, the film serves as a "layered critique" of contemporary Israel’s political and social landscape. The Story: A Family at a Crossroads
The film follows the Greenbaum family, who live in a seemingly comfortable community near Jerusalem but are internally "falling apart at the seams": David (Father): Beyond the Mountains and Hills is not an easy watch
A Lieutenant Colonel who retires after 27 years in the IDF. Struggling to adapt to a "competitive society obsessed with success," he enters a questionable business venture selling nutritional supplements. Rina (Mother):
A high school literature teacher bored with her routine, she embarks on an "illicit affair" with one of her students. Yifat (Daughter):
A left-wing activist who begins a relationship with a young Palestinian man, challenging her family's worldview. Omri (Son):
A quiet, introverted student whose suppressed frustrations eventually lead to an act of "excessive revenge" against a peer. Themes: Guilt and "Willful Blindness"
Kolirin describes the film as a study of "good people living in a bad reality". Key themes include: Beyond the Mountains and Hills (2016) - Plot - IMDb Recommended if you like: Slow-burn dramas, films about
The "Apathy" of Grief Unlike Hollywood dramas where grief is expressed through tears and shouting matches, Beyond the Mountains and Hills portrays grief as a quiet, corrosive poison. The family members don't scream at each other; instead, they drift apart. They become emotionally numb, engaging in bizarre or self-destructive behaviors just to feel something.
The Political is Personal Director Eran Kolirin uses the family’s tragedy to comment on the state of the Israeli collective consciousness. The dead son is never shown, only felt as an absence. This serves as a metaphor for the "ghosts" of Israeli society—the weight of the military and conflict is always present, even in the most mundane domestic settings.
The Acting The performance of Shimon Abkared (as the father, Davidi) is particularly compelling. He portrays a man trying to maintain a facade of authority and normalcy while his internal world is collapsing. His inability to connect with his students or his remaining children creates a palpable tension throughout the film.
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Upon its release, Beyond the Mountains and Hills won the Award for Best Cinematography at the Jerusalem Film Festival and received multiple Ophir Award nominations (Israel’s equivalent of the Oscars). However, it failed to achieve the international breakout of The Band’s Visit.
Why? Because it is deliberately unrewarding. The Band’s Visit had humor and cross-cultural warmth. This film has neither. It demands patience and rejects catharsis. One critic called it “a two-hour session of watching paint dry over a cracked heart”—and meant it as a compliment.
In the years since 2016, the film has gained a cult following among therapists, depressed millennials, and anyone who has ever rebuilt a life from collapse only to find the old cracks still showing. It is a movie you do not enjoy; you survive it. And then you think about it for weeks.