The Life and Death of Gotel Botel (2009)

Nati Ornan, an unknown musician and failed lover, lives in a grey world. During the day he is a genuine loser who lives with his mother and plays the part of a vacuum cleaner in a children's play. At night he is the leader of a rebellious Indy band that is overlooked by the establishment and the public. His pitiful personal and professional life propels Nati into creating a dark and narcissistic split personality known as Gotel Botel. Gotel brings Nati greatness: he avenges his enemies, creates a successful underground show and conquers the heart of Ayelet, Nati's secret love. As expected of an Indy band, its band members are just as weird. Hila, his good friend and show manager, dreams of hitting the charts. Tal, the band's guitarist, is torn between his love of music and his wife who demands that he grow up. Noa is the anarchistic cello player who goes on a rampage of urban terror. Gotel makes Nati's dreams come true, but Nati isn't all that sure this is a good thing. Nati and Ayelet's relationship deteriorates as a result of Gotel's megalomaniacal and violent nature. The show becomes a hit but is commercialized and Nati starts losing his grip on reality. Nati and Gotel head to battle, but this time they are against one. Nati must choose. Will he remain loyal to his art or will he sacrifice himself for success? The film tells the sad story of the world of commercial art, in which the greatest danger is the loss of one's identity. It is a world which loses its color from day to day, where weird characters are the only hope for individuality. The movie is inspired by the anarchism of its characters and thus creates a wild circus of diverse genres. The movie consists of a fictional script embedded with genuine actors, locations, situations and archives based on three years of filming the actual band. As the character of Gotel takes hold of Nati, the fiction takes hold of the documentary reality until they both merge into one solid half-truth. The film is an attempt to present the alternative culture in its roughest form. It is a world of sub-culture, a world in which people don't try to disguise their deviations. On the contrary, they praise them. It is a colorful and free universe that collapses time after time due to a more conservative reality.