Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 3, 2005

Portrays not only the fear that Israelis live with every day, but also the difficulties in a nation where people are arriving from all over the world, not knowing Hebrew.

| Original Score: 71/100 | Feb 9, 2004

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 22, 2003

[Kaplun's] gentle, clear-eyed affection for his characters smooths out the film's rough edges and reminds viewers that friendship and even joy can be found during the most frightening times.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 4, 2003

A small surprise at the end made me feel good about the whole movie, turning an amusing but slightly bland story into a winning experience.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 11, 2003

The performances are solid, and the material is somewhat moving.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 31, 2003

Yana's Friends works best showing its characters coping with war uncomfortably close to home.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 31, 2003

The movie won 10 Israeli Academy Awards and prizes at various film festivals. It's easy to see why.

Full Review | Nov 15, 2002

A small, rather unfinished gem of a movie, but one that shines rather brightly nonetheless.

| Original Score: B | Jul 24, 2002

Yana's Friends isn't a black comedy, strictly speaking. But it somehow manages to find a surprising amount of humor in deadly serious and even potentially tragic situations.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 12, 2002

Lots of charm and likeable characters add up to a delightful movie.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 12, 2002

Warm, bittersweet and charming.

| Original Score: B+ | Jul 11, 2002

Refreshing.

| Original Score: B | Jun 21, 2002

A tender, spirited look at love and community in the midst of war.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 21, 2002

It is heartwarming and often funny, but in its lightness somehow misses the mark.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 24, 2002

The film eloquently persuades us that it is better to laugh than cry and better to make love than war, messages that never go out of date.

Full Review | Apr 18, 2002

Sweet, sexy, and unexpectedly enchanting, "Yana's Friends" is the little feel-good comedy that could.

| Original Score: B+ | Mar 22, 2002

The treatment, both as satire and sentimentality, is heavy-handed.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 19, 2002

Amusing with one unforgettable gag, Kaplun's film does a passable job of portraying the hardships endured by immigrants but is more notable for placing a light-hearted tale in a decidedly heavy time and place.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 23, 2001

You aren't separated from these people even if they do live thousands of miles away.

| Nov 16, 2001