Billy Joel wrote "only the good die young" in one of his songs, and that is the upshot of this movie. Ending with a bang, and not a whimper, Mr. Eitan Gorlin's first and only directorial effort gives a downbeat perspective on righteousness, as the Yeshiva student gets his seemingly unjust reward for attempting to go straight. Or is it that he should have been less cynical and married the girl, and it is his running away that is being punished? At any rate, what with settlements being given over to Palestinians, protesters vs. Israeli army confrontations in the news, this interesting film is one of the few (perhaps only) film depictions of Israel today that I can bring to mind. The idea of citizens running free, carrying AR-15s or AR-16s is little wild to the average American. That hitchhiking is not, apparently, in the realm of Science Fiction in this bloody, Holy Land, is yet encouraging, however.
On a personal note, the actor playing Mendy, Mr. Oren Rehany, seemed remarkably similar to another Oren I had met in life, and before viewing the movie, I checked the image on the DVD box against the photo on the web page of the Oren I am familiar with. I find it plausible that the Oren I met, years before, is more likely the Oren Rehany under a different name, that that the photos of the individual at his nominal web page are truly him.