1
All in.
Fold.
Shit!
Chicken...
What about you?
You're bluffing. I'll follow.
The last card.
Ace of clubs.
Two pairs...
She's got a full house!
Your underwear.
Does the earring count?
You wish...
You lost on purpose to get naked?
I won't do it.
Take it off!
You're scared to get
naked in front of a girl?
You're a girl?
Not with a mono-brow...
Shut up.
Come on Assaf.
Lana...
Not with them...
We can leave.
You're not going anywhere...
Assaf!
Come on.
OK. I'll do it if you'll do it.
Here, record it.
You'll do it?
Unhook me.
Don't you know how?
Unhook it.
Assaf!
He's such a virgin...
Assaf, you loser!
Idiot.
VIRGINS
- Avi.
- Hey.
- Are you buying?
- I buy everything.
Let me see.
- All right.
- Great. The cash.
Hold on honey, here.
50? It's worth 500!
- I set the price.
- Don't be tight.
Why are you selling this?
Is your mum selling her cafe?
- Bye then.
- Don't be like that!
Assaf!
Will you take me?
I can't.
My dad will kill me.
Drop the keys.
I'll go alone.
Take the bus.
I'm broke...
What do you
want in Tel Aviv?
Give me the keys, please...
You're a lifesaver.
I owe you one.
Assaf it won't start!
Step on the break
and push the starter.
What?
You're leaving?
For Tel Aviv on that thing?
It'll take you two years.
Lena, get in the car.
Mum...
Can't you see that
I'm missing out?
Give me some money.
I'll sleep at Vika's.
I need you at the cafe.
- And to look after your cousin.
- Tamar?
Because of Tamar
I'm missing my chance?
To go clubbing in Tel Aviv?
Don't you have other ambitions?
Get in the car.
Why do I even try you don't
understand anything.
Don't walk like that,
"thump, thump, thump".
You're a woman not an elephant.
For a better future, vote Haluba.
Kiryat Yam, let's go.
Let's vote for Haluba again.
Vote Haluba in the municipals.
What do you want Lena?
Lana, not Lena.
Lana, Lana...
What I want?
I want to breathe.
Live, see other things.
I'm going crazy here!
You're spoiled.
Do you think I complained
when my parents dragged me here?
From Moscow to Kiryat Yam,
can you imagine the shock?
You better not leave.
You'll come back even more pesky.
Nice. Thanks, mum.
What is that?
It's of her age.
- You were like that too.
- I wasn't.
Her dad lets her go out like that?
He's too busy with his new girlfriend.
I can't believe it's been four
years since her mother died.
Come on, Lenoush.
Make an effort.
Who's come to visit?
My darling!
Lena, wait for me!
Do you want some?
I warn you, I won't be playing
bodyguard all summer.
It's weird.
What is?
It's never this cold in August.
Lena, have you already kissed a boy?
Lana, not Lena.
Of course I have.
What was it like?
Amazing.
We got married and
had lots of children.
Careful! You're crazy.
It's dangerous for her
to use the board.
You being a lifeguard
is dangerous.
That and pissing me off,
she's perfectly good at.
"The actress Erika was seen getting
out of a cab in Kiryat Yam town center,
without her husband or baby.
A permanent split?
Just a break?"
She looks like our Irena.
Nonsense.
Evidently, they have
nothing else to talk about.
It's a good sign.
A time of peace, with no attacks.
They talk of love, celebrities...
Like in France.
In France?
Don't you read the paper?
Like in Germany then?
In Germany?
What are you playing at?
Isn't it grim enough here?
By the way, the other day,
"baby-butt" told me
his father went fishing alone.
Then, in the middle of
the sea he saw a mermaid.
- Sure he did.
- A mermaid?
A mermaid. She appeared
just like that, in front of him.
He was so shocked
that he fainted.
He mistook the garbage for a mermaid.
That sea is disgusting.
It's been 20 years
since you swam in it.
You can swim?
Laugh if you like. You'll see
when they ban swimming.
And so, what about this mermaid?
He saw a mermaid.
That's all.
I remember...
When I was a child,
in the boat that was
taking us to Israel...
One night,
with my mother,
we saw a woman
swimming in the sea.
Her top half emerged
from the water
to reveal...
her beautiful breasts.
My mother quickly covered my eyes.
She shouldn't have!
Why?
Because she was the only one to see
that the woman had a fish tail.
All her life,
my poor mother kept telling us that
on arriving in Israel, she had seen...
a mermaid.
If only she'd been around
to hear this story,
my mother would be
jumping for joy now.
Lana?
Have you ever seen mermaids here?
Mermaids, no.
Hookers, yes.
Igor said that...
I don't know Jerusalem,
but here, there's nothing.
So we make up stories.
Don't you see the connection?
It's cold and then a mermaid appears.
Ever heard of global warming?
Here, it's cooling,
not warming.
They say we bleed during a period.
Is it true?
Are you serious?
Do mermaids have periods?
How do they reproduce?
They don't have...
What?
You know...
Between their legs...
What?
What's between your legs?
Huh?
You're a lost cause.
Look over there.
See what I see?
It's her! It's the mermaid!
I don't believe it...
Can you help me?
I've been stung
by a jelly fish.
Do you want me to pee on you?
Will it help?
Yes!
Pee on me.
Seriously.
Pee on yourself.
You don't know much about anatomy.
Don't worry.
I understand.
You're scared, it's normal.
I'm not scared at all.
Tamar go away.
Tamar!
It won't come...
Think of water...
The flow of it, the coolness...
Feel it course through you...
Thanks.
Wait! Where are you going?
What's your name?
What?
You should go to the hospital.
It's unsafe to pee in public toilets.
You'll catch a disease.
You peed on a stranger,
you might be pregnant!
Tamar.
If you tell, I'll get you to swallow
your necklace beads through your nose.
Can you help me?
I was stung by a jelly fish.
Do you know what to do?
It doesn't look like that.
There aren't any right now.
Irena, come and see.
She's a doctor.
What doctor?
I only studied medicine
for two years.
Lena, bring some vinegar!
That's best for it.
You're reading Dovlatov?
Long live the dream...
Because the dream...
is inaction...
and inaction...
is the only moral state that exists.
All action...
is...
...decay.
What are you doing here?
Nothing.
I'm trying to do
as little as possible.
And not only here.
In life in general.
A good for nothing!
Look who's talking.
You've come to Kiryat Yam
to do nothing?
No...
To write.
What are you? A poet?
Not only.
I write prose too and plays.
And that pays?
Hardly.
But I also write articles
for Haaretz from time to time.
That pays a little.
What's your name?
Chip. Chipi.
Chipi Avidan.
I have an idea for you.
You can write an article about my cafe.
Before, it was the place to be.
Everyone would come.
We danced every night.
- What happened?
- What happened?
The mayor had the promenade built.
But he didn't have enough
money to finish the construction.
So my cafe is here and the
promenade ends over there.
Poor Haluba.
He thought he'd kick-start
the economy again with his promenade.
- What?
- Nothing, what?
- Poor guy, it was a failure.
- Enough!
Lena, are you sleeping?
The vinegar!
What are you doing?
Hi.
Can I have a glass of vodka?
Of course! Pour him
a glass of vodka, darling.
Actually, forget it.
I have to go.
Thanks for your help.
Thanks a lot.
Are you happy?
Ow! Are you crazy?
You wanted money to leave?
Take it.
I didn't do anything.
That's exactly the problem.
You're useless.
Tamar is more responsible.
Adopt her if she's so great.
I'll go and live in Jerusalem instead.
I'm sick of you taking it all out on me!
Come back here.
This minute!
Calm down. It's not her fault...
And you...
When are you going to pay?
This isn't humanitarian relief,
it's a cafe!
Get out!
A whole day
on the same half pint...
Do you speak Russian?
Can you translate for me?
What will you give me?
I want money.
Let's talk about it later.
Give me a ciggy then.
So, you've not caught anything today?
No fish today.
The sea is dead.
It's because of yesterday's storm.
What are you looking for exactly?
Substance?
I need something of...
Something... That can inspire me.
Here? Something to inspire you?
What are you doing?
You're crazy!
Stop...
Why are you sulking?
I prefer it when you're happy.
Liar. You want to destroy me.
No, but you should get rid of this place.
You have too many debts.
Really?
Then what would I do?
You move to an office at the city hall.
One where only I have a key.
Your dreams are so elemental.
So interesting.
I am but a man.
May be I should find myself a woman.
I could try your wife.
She's not so bad.
I think she's beginning
to suspect something.
She's asking questions.
Haluba, Haluba...
When you sense I'm about to leave,
you start the same old tune...
It was a month ago.
I'd had a hard day.
I didn't feel well.
It was a month ago.
I'd had a hard day.
I felt unwell.
In the early morning,
I set out to sea as usual.
It was still dark.
It was a full moon and the stars
were shining in the sky.
In the early morning,
I set out to sea.
It was still dark.
The moon was full and the stars
were shining.
I felt a sudden tug
on my fishing line.
Suddenly I saw a woman
swimming close by.
I thought it was trapped
in the rocks. It happens.
It was unusual to swim at this time.
Her legs seemed strange.
Then I felt the fish tug on the line.
I felt something brush
against my calves.
At first I thought it was seaweed,
but when I looked
into the water, I saw it.
The biggest fish you've ever seen.
A beautiful woman
with a fish tail.
I went over to the group
of fishermen with my catch.
They stood aside
to let me pass.
But she slipped away
between my legs.
Ever since I've been waiting for
another chance to catch one like that.
I was afraid but I was
entirely spellbound.
It was a once in a lifetime chance.
Once in a lifetime.
Out of all the swimmers,
she chose me.
I looked up to the sky and I cried.
- You made it all up.
- No.
- You didn't make it all up?
- No.
OK, I did.
You couldn't have
made up such a thing...
Why? Because I'm not
a writer seeking substance?
How old are you?
18 years old?
17?
Hey, you said you would pay me!
For a fake translation?
Why do you need money?
To go to Tel Aviv.
OK.
You're in Tel Aviv.
What do you do?
I don't know...
What people do in Tel Aviv.
In Tel Aviv,
you get lost.
You lose your mind.
You lose your friends.
You lose your money...
Hope, innocence, your way,
and a lot of other things...
All right then...
Good-bye Lana.
- Hello Irena.
- Hello.
Good morning Irena, good morning Kiryat Yam.
Listen to what I found in the Haaretz.
This morning's paper.
In Kiryat Yam, where the elections
are in full swing
and of no interest to anyone.
A wind of hope blows on the city
ever since a fisherman
claims to have seen a mermaid.
As usual,
Anton Pevsner went fishing.
But on this day, something
incredible happened.
Knee deep in the water,
Anton felt something
brush against his legs.
He thought it was seaweed...
But when he looked again,
he saw her.
A woman
with a fish tail.
She had a young face...
But her body...
was that of a woman's.
She parted his legs
with her hands
and swam through.
Though he was struck by fear,
the experience was unique
and magical.
So he looked up to the heavens
and cried.
Did you believe that mermaids
only existed in fairy tales?
In Kiryat Yam, fishermen
swear they've seen a mermaid.
The mayor is offering a million dollars
to whoever can prove she exists.
No way...
What?
Isn't it a cheap publicity stunt?
No...
It's all true.
It's come at just the right time with
the new promenade on the sea front.
I urge everyone to come for a stroll,
to have a drink at the terrace cafes...
If they find enough proof
of the mermaid's existence,
they'll leave with
a million dollar cheque.
From Kiryat Yam City Hall.
And do you believe in mermaids?
My wife asked the same question.
I replied that the only
mermaid I knew was her.
Why did you turn it off?
He's selling a pipe-dream.
Like idiots, we've fallen for it.
We have to find her
before the others do...
Kid!
Get out of the water!
Your friends too!
The sea is dangerous!
There's no point searching,
she doesn't exist!
To all of you...
Don't be disappointed but
the mermaid doesn't exist,
never existed and will never exist!
- Granny, have you got the camera?
- No.
But how will we photograph her?
We'll use your phone.
The inhabitants of Kiryat Yam
claim to have seen a mermaid.
The city council is taking
all evidence seriously
and will offer a reward
to whoever brings proof...
How can an entire village
believe in the unbelievable?
What's really behind
this childish belief?
Is it to escape the gloom
of everyday life?
A life with no future or hope?
The poorest city on the coast...
They think we're freaks.
...has very little
to offer its inhabitants.
With a weak economic activity
and a hastily concreted waterfront,
Kiryat Yam has only a mermaid
to compete with its neighboring cities.
Give me them.
It must be Haluba and his million,
that have drawn the crowds.
A bigger smile...
Yes great.
Your hand further back.
With a look full of hope?
Yes, towards the promenade.
The smile...
Hey! Young man!
Thank you for the article.
Fantastic!
Thanks.
Come and see me at the City Hall.
We could do great things together.
Thanks to you and your mermaid
the city will blossom again.
You mean wilt.
- What?
- Sink to the depths of the sea.
Excuse me?
Kiryat Yam might have flourished...
But you ruined it all
with your million dollars.
Why not give the people hope,
leave them to imagine...
To enjoy...
Believe in something bigger.
And you?
When did you last let yourself,
but really,
let yourself believe in something?
The residents of Kiryat Yam
have been looking for the mermaid.
Is it the news?
We're live,
do you understand?
We're live. Stand back.
They're idiots.
Now I have to start again.
Stand back.
How are you?
Here he is...
The man of the moment...
- May I interview you?
- No, thanks.
About the mermaid?
Tamar, right?
Yes.
Do you believe in mermaids?
Because you believe in them?
So why us?
Because we're hicks?
You started it with the mermaid...
It was a joke.
I don't believe in that shit...
Tamar, tell me about the mermaid.
How do you imagine her to be?
Natural.
Maybe a little scared.
When I was little,
I knew a girl
who had hair all over
her hands and feet.
Lots of hair! It was like fur.
The children would tease her
and call her a werewolf. Poor girl.
One day,
she told me her secret:
her mother was a wolf
and her father a man.
She kept it a secret because people
are afraid of what they don't know.
People are scared.
And what scares them the most,
is when the established order is defied.
A thousand years ago, nobody
believed the earth was round.
They even killed those
who believed it...
Don't you have something serious
to write about like an attack?
How do you think we can find her?
They say she appears
when it's a full moon.
Those who believe in her can see her.
There's a Youtube video
on how to become a mermaid.
It's stupid.
You have to practice walking and jumping
with your feet together.
Like this.
Wow! That's amazing.
Yes, it's great...
Go jump over there a bit.
Great!
Again, again...
You're adorable. Unique.
A real little mermaid.
Are you a pedophile or what?
Why not take us home,
rape us and cut us into pieces.
Come if you like.
I'm at the hotel in Haifa.
But there are other journalists,
we won't be alone.
Classy.
Have you ever heard of being
feminine and gentle?
Why be gentle
when you're taking the piss?
You know what I like about you?
Those ugly, little rebellious hairs
between your eyebrows
that you won't pluck
like all the tarts do
so they can stay alive to ruin
the perfection of your face.
If only you weren't
a 16 year old virgin...
A virgin? Do I look like
a virgin to you?
You're not?
We can never tell with you...
Thank you Tamar.
That was very kind.
It's a shame your sister is so cynical.
She's my cousin, not my sister.
Cynicism damages a person's heart
to the point of rendering them insignifi
Pity...
- Poor guys.
- They'll never finish their story.
- Check out the babes.
- Let's go.
We can take care of their flippers.
Kiryat Yam!
What's wrong?
What are you looking at?
- I don't believe it. No way...
- What?
I've found her.
I've found her!
I've found her, she's here!
I've found her!
She's here, it's her!
I don't believe it!
Come, come, I've found her!
Magda! I'm so happy to see you.
Let go of me, you fool.
What do you want?
Are you crazy?
Incredible.
What?
It's her. I found her.
What?
...proof of the mermaid.
Now the mayor has decided
to sell his beach on eBay!
- Good morning Mayor.
- Good morning.
Can we really buy the beach on eBay?
If you have the money.
- How much is it?
- 3 million. Dollars of course.
We're reaching out to investors
to purchase our beach and develop it.
It's the only one
in Israel without a hotel
where the building permits
are available.
An American investor has offered
to build a theme park...
Fuck!
What happened?
What are you doing here?
Where's Lana?
I don't know and I don't care.
She left you on your own?
I'm sick and tired of that child.
She's so selfish.
Just like her father!
Irena, don't worry...
Nothing's done...
It's a good time to sell your business
and clear your debts.
Do you want me to clear off too?
You could make a profit.
Bloody megalomaniac.
Bloody megalomaniac...
Fuck...
He's not getting rid of me like this.
He doesn't know who he's dealing with.
He'll see what's coming.
He thinks I'll sell him my cafe.
I'll have a party
like he's never seen before.
I'll wake up the whole city.
What's the matter?
What did I do?
No, it's not you.
Fuck. I don't believe it...
- Let me see.
- No...
Let me have a look.
I won't touch it.
You said you wouldn't touch!
It hurts!
Chipi, I wanted to ask you...
Before, in the water, you...
Well... we...
Forgive me, Lana...
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for all this shit.
- What shit?
- All this shit...
This search to satisfy desires,
needs, longings...
It has to stop...
I have to give it up.
I'm sick of it.
Give up writing these lousy articles...
Give up poetry.
Enough.
I have to stop all this.
It makes no sense. It's ridiculous.
It's time I grew up.
"You can lose yourself in a woman
and wake up to find her empty."
You read it?
Yes.
I liked it a lot.
Thanks.
Who's it about?
Camille.
Who's she?
My wife.
Actually... My ex-wife...
We don't keep in touch.
We have a little girl...
She must now be...
4 years old, I think...
She has no idea who I am...
She doesn't know me...
I haven't seen her for so long.
She must know who you are.
You're her father.
Let's go to Tel Aviv.
- What are you doing?
- Calling a cab.
Lana, stop it.
Give me that.
Stop it. It's not funny.
It wasn't a joke.
Take me to Tel Aviv, Chipi.
Please.
All right.
Promise me?
Hey,
have you seen the guy
that was at the cafe?
Who?
The one that got stung by a jelly fish.
There aren't any jelly fish.
You haven't see him?
Did your mother find you?
She says you stole her spotlights.
The spotlights were collecting
dust in the garage.
I didn't know you would need them
for the "mermaid party".
- I was going to pay you back.
- Pay me back? How?
Do you know what work is?
No, you know how to steal.
But mum,
you don't understand.
It's me that doesn't understand?
I'm killing myself to save this cafe
so you have enough to eat.
Even Tamar is helping me with
the flyers and the organisation.
Not only are you useless
but you're stealing from me too!
Mum, don't you understand
the cafe is dead!
You're holding on
when all it does is give you grief.
You're like a captain who's trying
to save his sinking boat.
But it's not the Titanic!
It's a crappy boat with no passengers!
Why are you wasting your life like this?
Mum...
Be honest, if you had the choice,
would you spend the evening in your cafe?
At a "mermaid party"?
You have no heart Lana.
No heart.
Have you seen the reporter?
Good evening.
- Come to the party.
- What party?
The mermaid party.
- Will you be there?
- Yes, come.
"You can lose yourself in a woman
and awake to find her empty..."
Irena love, open up.
You know...
This party isn't a good idea.
They say you're losing it,
that you're wasting your money.
I don't understand what you want.
It won't change anything.
Irena sweetie.
I want you.
I love you. My Irena...
Listen, I've given it some thought.
Leave me the cafe.
I'll cancel your debts.
And you can manage the hotel
that's going to be built.
We'll have our own room.
We'll no longer have to fuck
in-between doorways...
I don't want to see you anymore.
Never again.
Lena, wait.
Lenouchka...
I can explain everything.
I didn't lie to you,
I hate him...
But at the same time, I love him.
It's inconceivable
but that's life.
Complicated!
Complicated!
How do you know when
you're not a virgin anymore?
What?
My little girl...
My sunshine...
Give me the hammer.
Vlad!
Hammer!
MERMAID CAFE
Where'd you get that necklace?
Was it your mother's?
Do you miss her?
Yes...
But I know that one day,
I'll find her again.
- Lana, can you teach me to swim?
- You can't swim?
My mother started
to teach me when I was 3
but she became sick...
Did you know she was
a swimming champion?
She even swam out
of a whirlpool alive.
Do you know what to do in a whirlpool?
What?
Don't struggle just let go.
The sea ends up spitting you out.
Wow, I didn't know.
I'll teach you to swim.
Do it now.
Right now.
Why right now?
Afterward it'll be too late.
Not today. There's the party.
But tomorrow...
I promise.
All right girls?
Vladimir, what are you doing?
Are you going to look for the mermaid?
Can I come with you?
Sorry sweetheart,
I have to do this alone.
I owe it to my mother.
All my life I made fun of her.
This is my chance
to prove she was right.
Why now Vladimir?
Because they appear
when there's a full moon.
If you like, we'll search for her
with the board later.
Around midnight right?
Are we too early?
No, no, come in. Take a seat.
Everyone will be here soon.
- Would you like something to drink?
- Nogah?
Nothing for now, thank you.
We're going to take a walk
and stop by later.
Thank you.
What's happening over there?
Is anyone there?
- Right, we're closing.
- What?
But you never close mum.
Sometimes you have to know
when to give up.
To avoid hitting rock bottom.
Come on Tamar, let's clear up.
Take everything back
to the shop for a refund.
This dress...
Erika!
...I'm writing for Haaretz now.
Can I interview you?
As a native of Kiryat Yam?
I can pick my subjects
for the articles.
Without a doubt you are
the most interesting person here...
I thought...
Hey asshole.
Lana, we're in the middle...
No problem.
I get it.
You stole my story, now you don't
need me so you dump me.
- That's not it.
- You're a piece of shit.
You couldn't even return my calls.
Like an idiot, I thought you
were in hospital,
dying...
Because of those fucking stings.
I should have known...
Those stings are probably fake.
Just as fake as you are.
Thanks.
It's funny,
nothing's changed in this city.
This is where I smoked
my first cigarette.
I hid the packet in the sand
thinking I would find it again.
My first kiss was over there...
next to the jetty...
It's probably where
I lost my virginity.
I don't even remember his name.
He was my friend's brother...
All I remember is his body...
So heavy on mine.
Sometimes I tell myself
that each time I make love
I'm making up for that first time.
And yet...
"Je ne regrette rien".
Excuse me.
Can't you do anything without me?
You can't put him to sleep on your own,
that's crazy...
Yes.
Go on, put the loud speaker on.
Sleep well, my prince.
I don't believe it!
She's so beautiful!
Erika!
Canon of beauty!
Come over here!
You're so beautiful...
Mum!
Lana! Lana!
Lana...
Here, for Tel Aviv.
- Do what you want, I trust you.
- Mum!
Lena, wait a minute.
Lena!
Tamar, I have to go
but we'll do it tomorrow, OK?
I promise.
Shalom at least!
- Where were you?
- He went looking for his fantasy.
So, did you find it?
- Hi mum.
- Where is Tamar?
Have you seen her?
I can't find her...
Do you see what I see?
There, on the rocks.
Mum.
I think it's Tamar.