The Slut

2011 Israeli film

May 2011 (2011-05) (Cannes)

Running time

87 minutesCountryIsraelLanguageHebrew

The Slut (Hebrew: הנותנת , translit. Ha-Notenet) is a 2011 Israeli drama film directed by Hagar Ben-Asher. It stars Hagar Ben-Asher as the titular character, Ishai Golan, Icho Avital, Yoav Levi and Tsahi Hanan. The film premiered in May 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival and featured in the Critics' Week.^[1]

Plot

Tamar, a promiscuous thirty-something, lives on a farm with her two daughters and occupies her spare time with a string of lovers. A new arrival in the village, a veterinary surgeon who treats one of her injured livestock, soon falls under her spell and they become romantically involved, but can she survive in a monogamous relationship?

Cast

Hagar Ben-Asher as Tamar
Ishai Golan as Shai
Icho Avital
Yoav Levi
Tsahi Hanan

Production

Many think that in the sex scene between Hagar Ben-Asher and Ishai Golan the penetration is not simulated, but the actor said it was only an illusion. "Did we have sex on camera? No. Our acting technique was really refined by the time we shot that scene, after so much rehearsal and repetition. We shot that scene on our final day, when our technique was at its absolute best. It was the culmination of a long process of working together, and I felt really safe," he said.^[2]

Release

The film premiered in May 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival and featured in the Critics' Week.^[1] It won an award for Best Director at the 2011 Jerusalem Film Festival and was entered into the director's category at the Chicago International Film Festival later that year.^[3]

Reception

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a slow-going, rather pointless Israeli drama about an attractive rural woman who just gotta have it. Notoriety of its title and content will attract some attention on the festival circuit and no doubt in Israel, but audiences will have that empty feeling afterwards."^[4]

Alissa Simon writing for Variety said that "The Slut refrains from supplying audiences with an emotional hook; lissome cipher Tamar is all id. We have no idea what she thinks or why she behaves the way she does, except, perhaps, at the pic’s not unexpected but still not well-prepared conclusion."^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Ehrman, Jeremy (5 May 2011). "Israeli films, Footnote, The Slut, among others to premiere at 2011 Cannes Festival". Israeli Film Center. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
^ "ישי גולן: "אם אתה מתחרמן מהסרט, עשינו עבודתנו כאמנים" את". www.haaretz.co.il. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
^ Dekel, Ayelet (29 August 2011). "The Slut to participate in Chicago International Film Festival". Midnight East. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
^ McCarthy, Todd (13 May 2011). "The Slut: Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
^ Simon, Alissa (12 May 2011). "Review: 'The Slut'". Variety.com. Retrieved 21 June 2015.