"Within people there is always hope, why else would they sing?"
—Ian MacKaye commenting on the message of Jericho's Echo
Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching the debut screening of a new documentary by up-and-coming Bay Area filmmaker Liz Nord. Her feature-length film, Jericho’s Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land, turns the spotlight on the small but fierce punk scene in Israel. When most of us think of Israel, we think of war, Palestine, Jews and the Jewish faith—and that’s about it. If you’re a little more savvy or in the know you might add hummus and tabouli to the list, Ariel Sharon, and maybe the words kosher and kibbutz. But how often, if ever, do you think of the youth culture, particularly the alienated youth?
Well that’s the territory in which Nord stakes her filmic claim. I know her from boot camp, and when she mentioned once that she was working on film, I didn’t think much of it. Everybody in San Francisco is working on a film.
Two years later, i.e. last month, I received an Evite to the premiere screening, and I was still rather nonplussed. Everybody in San Francisco who works on a film eventually has a screening, often in someone’s garage. But the invite was to a real live theatre, so I started to take the whole thing a little more seriously. I even rounded up my Israeli friend, The Ron, and off we went, though I had to bribe him with a soft ice cream from McDonald’s. Once we got there, the slew of hipsters in front had the effect of a force field, repelling him back towards home, but I grabbed hold of him, and we found some seats. I was glad to see a full house, and even more glad to feast my eyes and ears on Jericho’s Echo. What a great film!
Here’s the thing. You think about a movie about punk music, and the expectation is that you’ll see a lot of mohawks and bodies hurling themselves around in a ring; you’ll see some spitting, some broken glass, maybe some blood, and if the music is loud enough your own ears will bleed. Instead, I felt like I got a taste of Israel in a way that made me want to go grab my guitar, shred my jeans, and book a flight.
Article comments
1 - sagwellian
I was expecting something about Fugazi but I've never heard of this movie. It sounds worth cheking out even if Shareef don't like it! Thanks for the post. When is it coming to NY? The movie not punk music. We got CBGB and nobody got that!
2 - Liz Nord
Thank you so much for writing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your incredible write-up about the movie, especially since you are a self-proclaimed cynic about these things. I even sent your blog to my parents cuz I was so proud to be written about so beautifully, and my dad
was like, "What is a blog?" ha ha. He's 73--gotta love him.
I have been recovering from our successful screening, and then immediately had to start getting
ready to take the film to Israel for DocAviv! Anyway, I am leaving later today for Israel and am so excited. This will be the first time any of the bands are seeing the movie, so it should be awesome!!
Hope to see you when I get back.
Best,
Liz
3 - Eric Olsen
sorry I missed this the first time around mpho, super job - I love the irrepressible impulse to punk in its endless permutations.
Thanks so much for checking in Liz, and best of luck with your trip!
4 - mpho
Gratzie, Eric. Although I'm not a huge fan of punk, I can certainly appreciate where it's coming from. I'm talking about real punk not the bubblegum punk foisted upon us by the record companies. Last year I caught a really great film a called AfroPunk, and it was fantastic. For years I had always joked that black people aren't into that kind of stuff because we're too into our appearances, but that movie really openned my eyes to the fact that REAL punk moves the listener and the artist out of marginalization and into a place of power. I'm currently reading Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer, which again, brings this point home.