 Breaking Glass Pictures timely gave the viewing public a New Year's gift by releasing the 2017 Israeli drama "Scaffolding" on January 1, 2019. The delay in sharing thoughts about this coming-of-age film is attributable to Breaking Glass and other indie-film studios keeping this site very busy with the regular awesome additions to their catalogs. The numerous accolades for "Scaffolding" include a well-deserved Israeli Film Academy Best Supporting Actor award for the man who portrays high-school literature teacher Rami. He represents the cultured side of the art versus commerce conflict with which excitable boy Asher is dealing. Tough and gruff dad Milo represents the other side. The following YouTube clip of a "Scaffolding" trailer introduces the theme of the film and provides a strong sense of the characters. Seventeen year-old Asher is the good son when "Scaffolding" opens; he is a strong and obedient offspring who happily is devoted to the titular company of his self-made man father, High school is a mutual nuisance regarding this highly disruptive presence and that educational institution.
The scales begin to tip in favor of book learning when Rami reaches Asher at a time that the boy also is facing his final finals. The conflict that is at the center of all films of this nature relates to Milo literally needing the help of his son more than ever. Milo directly stating that school is not very important creates more emotional turmoil. The plot thickens on Asher experiencing the type of angst related to Rami that many of us feel when we view a high-school teacher as a parental figure. A blow to that relationship always hurts, and it is worse when we do not fully understand the cause. The search for answers causes Asher to fully go out of bounds; of course, this merely worsens his situation. The artistry of the "Scaffolding" relates to the understated manner in which this universal story unfolds. The actors who portray the three sides of the triangle all play their roles well. We are spared violently frenetic dancing in an empty warehouse and any other excessive demonstrations of teen angst. We also do not get any extreme displays of adult frustration or other strong feelings. This makes the pivotal act of desperation by Rami especially surprising. The international vibe of "Scaffolding" continues with the special features. A 20-minute making-of short is in Hebrew without subtitles; the five-minute version has subtitles.
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