Tel Aviv on Fire (תל אביב על האש)

1967, Three months before the Six Day War

Marwan.

Manal.

I was worried.

You're late.

Darling, your passport is ready.

Your new name will be Rachel.

Rachel Ashkenazi.

A perfect Jewish name.

War is coming.

The Zionists want Jerusalem.

Find this man.

General Yehuda Edelman.

He has the Zionist war plans. We need his secrets.

He must have many secrets.

Yehuda is the enemy

that stole our land.

Yehuda is a murderer.

We must get his plans.

Manal,

kill him if you have to.

Palestine needs us.

Marwan...

I'll miss you.

When we accomplish our mission

and defeat the Zionists

we'll be married.

In Jerusalem.

May I?

Thank you. Yehuda.

I know who you are, General.

"Are you busy, General?"

"Are you busy, General?"

There's a change in the script, Tala.

Again?

I changed a line, it's simple.

In Hebrew: "Ani harimon shelcha."

In Arabic, it means "I'm your pomegranate."

Is Tala ready?

She's ready.

Where's Salam? He's late.

- Good morning. - Morning.

Atef's looking for you. He looks pissed off.

As usual. How's my hair?

Perfect.

I'm here.

Is Yehuda's office ready? The props in place?

Yes.

Then get me some coffee.

Sugar?

No sugar.

- Good morning, Uncle. - Good morning.

Coffee?

No. We're filming. Don't be late.

First we'll wipe out the Egyptian air force.

Then we can crush their ground troops.

Jordan will fall...

Salam, what are you doing?

Put it down. We'll deal with it later.

Keep going, Karim.

Action!

Jordan will fall easily. And Jerusalem will be ours.

Yes?

Are you busy, General?

Oh, come in, come in.

Officers, this is my friend Rachel.

- Hello. - Hello.

She just opened the best French restaurant in Tel Aviv.

- Am I right? - Absolutely.

Let's take a break.

The Arabs are fools.

Jerusalem will be ours.

Sorry, I'm boring you.

No.

When I listen to you...

my heart "trumbles".

"Trumbles"? Is that right?

Bassam?

Salam, get up. Help her.

Salam is our new production assistant.

He has excellent Hebrew.

Speak up.

"Trembles."

- "Trembles." - Exactly.

Thanks, Salam. Very good.

Keep going.

My heart trembles.

- You look explosive today! - Thank you.

- No, no. Wait. - What is it?

- That's wrong. - What do you mean?

You can't call a woman "explosive."

It's rude.

You can say "attractive,"

"stunning," "sweet,"

but never "explosive."

I wrote "explosive" on purpose. Leave it.

Atef.

Salam, keep it "explosive."

Go ahead, Karim.

You look really explosive!

Thank you.

- I brought you something sweet. - Oh, thank you.

No, it's wrong.

The boy is right.

He wants me to love him. Why would he insult me?

It has a double meaning, Tala.

Karim, play it as written.

I can't feel it.

It's insulting.

Atef.

Nabil.

Bassam, what do you think?

I have to agree with Tala.

Use one of Salam's words.

- Really, Bassam? - Yes.

This is no way to work!

Let's keep going.

Say: "You look stunning tonight."

Right, Salam?

It works.

We have great Palestinian actresses here.

Why bring a French diva who barely speaks Arabic?

It's disgraceful.

Uncle?

One moment.

What's he doing here?

When will I have my first paycheck?

- You're broke? - Almost...

Listen... you're here to help with Hebrew pronunciation,

not change the script.

But you asked me to correct mistakes.

Yes, but tell me first.

That should be enough.

Thanks, Uncle.

Salam?

Can you help me?

How do you pronounce this word?

"Rimon."

You write the sounds in French?

Yes. This is how I learn my lines.

- Wow, amazing. - Yeah, I know.

Can I take a selfie with you?

- The light is here. - Oh, yeah.

How is it?

You look explosive!

Your ID.

If I tell a woman "you look explosive,"

is that a nice thing or an insult?

I mean a man to a woman... "You look explosive."

Get out of the car.

You heard her. Out.

Out of the car!

"Explosive" is just an expression.

We were discussing the word "explosive."

- I was talking about women. - Shut up!

It's just a word.

Shut up!

Who asked you to talk?!

One more word, throw him out.

What were you doing in the West Bank?

Answer!

I work on a TV show in Ramallah.

What show? What's it called?

"Tel Aviv On Fire."

- Are you an actor? - No, I work with the dialogue.

Here.

- Where'd you find this? - In his car.

Names of military installations and officers...

That's the script for the next episode.

It's... television.

Those are my notes.

You wrote this?

Yes, of course.

You're the writer of "Tel Aviv On Fire"?

Yes... Yes.

So what's the name of the spy with the restaurant?

Rachel.

And her lover?

Which one?

The Arab one... the terrorist.

Oh, Marwan.

And the Israeli officer?

Yehuda Edelman, General Edelman.

Yehuda Edelman. Right.

Yehuda...

David.

We have a celebrity here.

This Arab writes "Tel Aviv on Fire."

Do you watch it?

Once. It's anti-Semitic.

It's called "Tel Aviv On Fire." You expected a Zionist show?

Watch it anyway, practice your Arabic.

Am I right?

Right.

My wife watches your show.

It's mostly for women.

A lot of people watch it.

Mostly women.

My wife never misses an episode. God knows why!

So what happens at the end?