Charlie and a Half

Charlie Ben-Hanania (Yehuda Barkan) is a con artist from a poor neighborhood, making a living through scams and running illegal gambling operations, assisted by Miko (David Shushan), an at-risk orphaned youth who lives in a shabby cabin with his older sister Lily (Geula Nuni), whose boyfriend is staying in the United States. Charlie falls in love with Gila Zohar (Haya Katzir), a beautiful blonde girl from a wealthy family in North Tel Aviv, whose parents try to set her up with Robert Diamenstein (Tuvia Tzafir), the nerdy son of Benjamin Diamenstein, one of Mr. Zohar's business partners abroad. She is disgusted by the spoiled American boy, who is mainly interested in classical music and golf, and instead feels a connection with Charlie. Charlie and Gila repeatedly find ways to evade Robert and spend time alone together. Charlie tries to hide his real occupation and tells Gila that his father is a "beverage importer." His father, Zaki (Arieh Elias), is an alcoholic with a fondness for arak. Charlie is also engaged in power struggles with his rival Sasson Nagarin (Ze'ev Revach), who maintains a well-kept car and frequently sexually harasses Miko's sister. Sasson struggles to conceive a child with his wife (Nurit Cohen) and turns to Flora (Edna Fliedel), Charlie's mother, a fortune teller, for advice. She reads his coffee grounds and sees a tall creature—telling Sasson he must pluck hair from it to achieve salvation for himself and his wife. Sasson has a thuggish friend named Gedaliah (Moshe Ish-Kasit). The film is interspersed with encounters between Charlie and Sasson, sometimes with Gedaliah and sometimes without, where each gains the upper hand at different times. Two of the film's most humorous scenes take place in a restaurant, where the current victor forces his rival to eat an excessive variety of dishes together. Gila accidentally encounters Charlie while he is running gambling games and realizes he has deceived her. She returns home upset and locks herself in her room. Charlie calls her, but she refuses to speak to him. At night, Miko arrives and convinces her that Charlie truly loves her, inviting her to come with him to Charlie's house. The two reconcile. Gila brings her parents to meet Charlie's parents. They pretend to cooperate but, of course, refuse to accept Charlie, the "chach-chach" (street-smart hustler), wondering what their daughter sees in this "wild man." Meanwhile, Zaki interprets Flora's vision for Sasson: the tall creature is a giraffe. Sasson must pluck two hairs from its whiskers. Sasson does so, and his wife becomes pregnant. He comes to thank them. Lily also receives plane tickets from her boyfriend for herself and Miko to travel abroad. In the midst of the celebration, Charlie arrives and kisses Lily out of joy. Gila sees this, assumes he is cheating on her, and flees. Charlie chases her in Sasson's car, but during the pursuit, he swerves off the road, and the car plunges into a ravine. Miko calls Gila, explaining what happened ("He's badly injured, they don't know what's wrong with him!"), and she rushes to the hospital. She enters Charlie's room, only to see a covered stretcher being wheeled out. "You came to see him? Too late. He's dead," an old man tells her. She bursts into tears and goes downstairs. As she walks down the hallway, she hears Charlie's voice—he is sitting in bed, playing cards with his roommates, completely fine except for a bandage on his head. She breaks into hysterical laughter. The film ends at the airport, where Gila and Charlie—now married—bid farewell to Lily and Miko. Charlie kisses Lily again, and his goodbye scene with Miko is one of the film's highlights. Lily and Miko board the plane, while Charlie and his wife head off on their honeymoon. == Cast ==

, Yehuda Barkan, and Moshe Ish-Kasit during filming • Yehuda Barkan as Charlie Ben-Hanania – A smooth-talking con artist from a poor neighborhood who falls in love with Gila, a wealthy girl from North Tel Aviv, while running illegal gambling schemes. • Ze'ev Revach as Sasson Nagarin – Charlie's flashy rival, a wheeler-dealer obsessed with his car, who constantly harasses Miko's sister and struggles to have a child with his wife. • Arieh Elias as Zaki Ben-Hanania – Charlie's alcoholic father, a lovable drunkard with a fondness for arak. • as Flora Ben-Hanania – Charlie's mother, a fortune teller who gives Sasson a bizarre prophecy involving a giraffe. • as Gila Zohar – A beautiful, wealthy blonde from North Tel Aviv who rejects her parents' preferred suitor (Robert) for the street-smart Charlie. • Geula Nuni as Lily – Miko's older sister, who lives in poverty but dreams of a better life abroad with her boyfriend. • Elisheva Michaeli as Mrs. Zohar – Gila's snobbish mother, who disapproves of Charlie. • as Chaim Zohar – Gila's wealthy father, a businessman who tries to arrange her marriage to Robert. • Tuvia Tzafir as Robert Diamenstein – A nerdy, spoiled American suitor obsessed with classical music and golf, whom Gila despises. • as Gedaliah – Sasson's brutish enforcer and friend. • Reuven Shefer as Car Salesman – A minor but memorable role, likely involved in one of Charlie's schemes. • as Mazal – Presumably a supporting character in the neighborhood (exact role unclear in the plot summary). • Aryeh Moskona as Neighbor – A background character in Charlie's community. • as Erlich – Likely another local figure in Charlie's world. • Nurit Cohen as Yafa – Sasson's long-suffering wife, who finally gets pregnant after his bizarre giraffe-hair quest. • as Miko – A streetwise orphan who helps Charlie with his scams and lives with his sister Lily; his emotional goodbye with Charlie is a key moment. == Production ==

Background The film was produced by the Filmor company, owned by the Zaboloni brothers. One of the brothers Simcha Zevuloni was born in Iran, grew up and was educated in Israel, and served in the IDF. Reportedly, public trust in the government had reached a "breaking point" following the Yom Kippur War, the perceived failures that led to it, and its aftermath. According to Davidson, he discovered Katzir during a visit to Sheraton Beach in Tel Aviv and invited her to audition. During the screen test, she was asked to deliver the line "I love you" to Barkan, which convinced the production team to cast her. Soundtrack is kneeling on the left. The film's soundtrack was composed by Yair Rosenblum. The theme song was performed by Uri Revach, brother of Ze'ev Revach, with lyrics by Yonatan Gefen. The ending melody, which appears in part during the film, was adapted into the song On the Grass at Night performed by Northern Command Band with additional lyrics by Esther Nitzav. To mark the film's 50th anniversary at the request of Barkan's son, Shlomi Shabat recorded a cover version of the song. == Reception ==

Charlie and a Half was released in the summer of 1974, and it was met with negative reviews. It has since gained a cult following and remains a "nostalgic favorite," with several of its quotes becoming embedded in Israeli popular culture, including: "Who's messing around is Miko," "He's seriously injured, we don't know what he has," and "How many eggs? How many there are, and more." The film also has been interpreted as foreshadowing the political upheaval of 1977, "with the election victory of Menachem Begin—the popular underdog who, though Ashkenazi himself, was seen as a representative of the Mizrahi community—over Shimon Peres, a symbol of the Ashkenazi establishment." This mirrors the plot of the film, in which Charlie wins the heart of Gila over Robert (played by Tuvia Tzafir), an educated Ashkenazi suitor. Gila is portrayed as disillusioned by her parents’ and Robert's hedonistic lifestyle and sees her relationship with Charlie as an act of defiance against societal norms. == References in other media ==

• In ''''—an Israeli daily comedy-drama series— the character, Kfir is forced to eat eggs with their shells as a punishment given by another character, Gershon. • The TV show '' featured a parody sketch about the characters from Charlie and a Half'', showing what happened to them after the film and where they are today. The sketch was made to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary. The sketch titled "Charlie and a Half 2" starred Adir Miller and HaMeshulash comedy trio. • In the TV series '', Shalom performs an imitation of Charlie and a Half'' during his audition for the Sabra Band. • In the film '', characters Halabi, Penso, and Hinga eat eggs with the shells on. This scene is a recreation of the original egg-eating scene from Charlie and a Half''. == See also ==