Film Summary

Yoav, a young Israeli man, has a one-way ticket to Paris believing France to be his salvation from what he sees as the madness of his country. Things don't get off to a great start as he discovers his living arrangement is unfit for living, yet his grandiose expectations leave no room for a failure to adapt. Wholehearted in his resolution to erase his Jewish-Israeli origins, he refuses to speak Hebrew and obsessively studies his constant companion, a French dictionary. He develops a particularly strong bond with his privileged neighbor who symbolizes - to Yoav - the French promise of fraternité. Nothing can extinguish Yoav's determination to be thoroughly French. Based on the real-life experiences of writer-director Nadav Lapid, SYNONYMS explores the conflicted realm of fervent Nationalism and the challenges of putting down roots in a foreign land.

Not Rated. Contains nudity.

Coeli Fitzpatrick is Professor of Philosophy and Faculty Chair in the Frederik Meijer Honors College at Grand Valley State University. Her publications include Muhammad in History, Thought and Culture as well as works on Orientalism and representations of the Orient. Her current research focuses on the history of the transmission of Arab intellectual history in the late medieval period. She teaches courses in the Honors College, including the first-year sequence The Middle East Beyond the Headlines.