Go in Peace Rain (2007)

Go in Peace Rain is a journey following the metamorphosis of one Jewish melody - an ancient prayer of parting from the rain and welcoming the dew - its many incarnations, and its final dramatic position as the Israeli State's national anthem. The tune of the melody can be found in many variations. Among these: a Flemish National Song, a Polish air, a Turkish melody, an ancient Italian song, a Swedish ditty called Ack, Värmeland, a Basque national song, the opening of the symphonic poem The Moldau, by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, and others. This is not a detective thriller in search of the writer of Hatikvah, but a quest for an elusive truth. The journey, which follows the melody and the encounter with today's upholders of tradition, awakens the richness and tremendous depths of Jewish culture that have nearly been destroyed, together with the lost beautiful face of Judaism. The film opens with a woman singing the old, deep version of Go in Peace Rain, against the backdrop of her pictures from Europe, and ends with a wind orchestra playing a bombastic version of Hatikvah at a celebratory event in Israel. The gap between these two variations sheds light on what happened to the relics of the beautiful culture once it arrived in the Land of Israel.