I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This is a tale about how an idealistic young man is corrupted by modern society, how easy spiritualism can lead to materialism if the right checks and balances in own's life are not kept. The movie is set in modern Israel, but it might be anywhere else where the economy is booming and cheap labor is needed. The motto of the characters during the movie is "Don't be a frayer!" (sucker). James, the main character, strives not to be one. "Ani lo frayer" (I am not a frayer). In the process he will become a different man but, eventually, life will teach him a lesson that will push him to recover his lost innocence.Finally, another important symbolism of the movie relates to Israel itself. The country has become in recent decades a full-fledged capitalist society back from the primitive socialist Zionism of the founding fathers, something well represented by the bustling city of Tel-Aviv full of American-style malls. I'd say the director is also trying to make a wake-up call to his fellow country men regarding the path the country has taken. Therefore, and in this sense, James' transformation embodies Israel own drift from the Zionist roots.

"The Adventures of James in the Holy Land" ("James' Journey to Jerusalem") is one of the best movies made in Israel I ever saw, if not the greatest. You may see this movie from your point of view, but I'll tell you about the movie in the original point of view, a point of view of someone from Israel. The movie tells the sad and comic story of James, who made the long trip from his tribe in Africa to Israel, to see the holy city of Jerusalem. But when James arrives, he discovers he's a victim of a recent problem nowadays in Israel - they believe he's lying and that he just want to illegally live and work in Israel. So James ends in the jail, until Shimi Shabati, son of Sallah Shabati (Who had, in the 50's, his own movie, and would be a main character in the movie), comes and takes him to a shelter in Tel-Aviv where he'll receive a job. I won't tell anymore, but I'll tell that the movie is a wonderful movie where an African who spend his life in a tribe and believe in a better world, would discover the real world, and see with his bare eyes that it wasn't what he was expecting, while having to decide if he prefers the holy city, or the money.No doubt about it - a 10.

I really liked this film because it exposed something we Israelis don't like to bring out into the light: the negative consequences of not being a fryer. I think that in Israel, people are just so focused on not being taken advantage of that they often don't think about how they themselves pimp others. I also found it fascinating how James listened to Mr. Salah's bad advice and Mr. Salah listened to James' bad advice, (which led to unhappiness for both) out of trust in one another. It was really interesting that no Israeli/Palestinian politics entered the arena--it's impossible to live life in Israel without being highly sensitive to the political situation, and as such most Israeli films touch upon it in some way or another. I liked how this one didn't, though because I think that beyond Israeli/Palestinian issues, there are a lot of other problems Israeli society faces and often overlooks. Definitely a film with an important statement about being Israeli.

This movie is one of the best Israeli movies I have yet to see. It is a simple story with some good actors, and it shows the "values" of Israeli people. The main characters were acted well, yet the rest were pretty the same like most Israeli films, not professional. Camera work is plain and quality is not film, but still a good job done there. Another milestone in Israeli cinema.