| Blaumilch Canal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ephraim Kishon |
| Produced by | Roni Ya'ackov |
| Starring | Bomba Tzur Nissim Azikri Shaike Ophir Shraga Friedman |
Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes (87 minutes in the German version) |
| Country | Israel |
| Languages | Hebrew German |
Blaumilch Canal (international release title: The Big Dig) is a 1969 Israeli comedy satire written and directed by Ephraim Kishon, depicting the madness of bureaucracy through a municipality's reaction to the actions of a lunatic.
To film Blaumilch Canal, Tel Aviv’s Allenby Street as well as a 100-foot (30 m) long canal were reconstructed in Herzliya Studios. Paul Smith was the uncredited assistant director. [1] The cast included some of the most prominent Israeli actors of the time in addition to hundreds of extras.
The film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. [2]
Blaumilch is a lunatic with a digging compulsion who escapes from an insane asylum. He escapes from the asylum by hiding in the back of a truck that delivers milk to the institution. Stealing a jackhammer and compressor, he proceeds to dig up one of Tel Aviv's busiest traffic arteries, at the junctions of Allenby, Ben Yehuda and Pinsker Streets, in front of iconic Mugrabi Cinema. [3]
Rather than question his actions, the police and city officials assume he is operating under the municipality's orders, and aid him as much as they can. Complaints from local residents, whose lives become a living hell due to the noise and traffic jams, lead to infighting amongst city departments. To speed up the work, so that it can be completed before the upcoming municipal elections, the city sends armies of construction workers and heavy equipment to help the lone jackhammer operator, turning a mere annoyance into a full-blown disaster.
Hauled before a police commissioner to explain why they attempted to sabotage municipal construction equipment, the residents give a vocal rendition of the noises they are subjected to daily until the commissioner himself yells for quiet.
When city officials realize they are destroying a street without any plans or goals in sight, it is too late: Allenby Street is connected with the Mediterranean Sea and a canal is created. In a flamboyant opening ceremony, the mayor then declares that Tel Aviv has been turned into the Venice of the Middle East.
In an ironic twist Ziegler, a low-level municipal administrator, is the only one to realize that the 'project' was the work of a lunatic; he is laughed at and himself branded a lunatic. In the final scene, Blaumilch is seen digging up Kings of Israel Square (today Rabin Square), which fronts the Tel Aviv Municipality building.
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