Dream High is my movie of the summer – exhilarating, funny, and surging with youthful energy in its rhymes and beats. Directed by Amit Ulman, with a screenplay by Ulman and Omer Havron (Jimbo J), like Ulman’s previous film, The City, it is a rap opera based on the stage play by Ulman, Havron, and Omer Mor (Itzik Pzazazty). An homage to teen films (think Karate Kid, Mean Girls), it works with familiar themes in a clever, subversive way that is self-aware, and its feel-good vibes are delivered with just the right edge. Fast-paced, captivating, and dazzling in its verbal acrobatics and the physicality of its movement language, Dream High strikes a perfect balance between irreverence and sincerity.
The film is set in a high school, focusing on the senior class at the beginning of what will be their final year. In Hebrew, the title of the film (which as in English is also the name of the school) is “Tichon Magshimim.” Magshimim means to realize, or to make something happen, and the first song plays on the relationship between having dreams and making them come true, emphasizing that familiar feeling that this is the last chance to do …whatever. Into this school, where rap battles rule, comes Yoav (Amir Banai), who has just moved to Tel Aviv from Ness Ziona – a nice place, but with far less cachet than the big city. Yoav lives with his mother Michal (Michal Yanai) who is barely managing to stay afloat financially despite working three jobs.
Moving to a new school senior year is rough (been there, done that), friendships and status have already been set, and it can be very difficult to find your place and your people. As Yoav goes through the ignominy of trying to find a seat in the classroom, Shimrit (Noam Kleinstein) takes pity on him, and the two become friends. But the school’s king of rap battles, Hanan (Yonatan Horenczyk) feels the need to assert his position by humiliating Yoav, who does not know how to rap. News of Yoav’s failure spreads like wildfire, and its depiction goes to humorous extremes. Realizing that he must rap to be accepted socially, and driven to overcome the shaming by Hanan, Yoav is determined to become a skillful rapper. He finds a mentor in Hammurabi* (Amit Ulman), but the road to popularity is strewn with unexpected hazards. Complicating the situation is the allure of Maya (Yael Shelbia), that beautiful girl who is out of Yoav’s league.
As a fan of the genre, I enjoyed recognizing the various references throughout the film, especially one of my favorites: that girl who takes off her glasses and becomes instantly beautiful. There is also a brilliant bit of misdirection that plays on the viewer’s familiarity with teen movies – I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s hilarious. Although inspired by the teen film genre, Dream High marks out its own territory in its creative and mesmerizing use of rhyme and rhythm, a contemporary celebration of the Hebrew language.**
Dream High
Israel/2026/100 min/Hebrew
Director: Amit Ulman; Screenplay: Ulman and Omer Havron (Jimbo J) based on the eponymous play by Ulman, Havron, and Omer Mor (Itzik Pzazazty); Cinematography: Misha Pletinsky; Editor: Eyal Sibi; Composers: Havron, Mor, Ulman; Music Production: Tomer Katz; Cast: Amir Banai, Noam Kleinstein, Yael Shelbia, Yonatan Horenczyk, Amit Ulman, Michal Yannai, Ido Bartal, Noam Karmeli, Daniel Shalmaev
* Hammurabi (1810 BC – 1750 BC), sixth Amorite King of Babylon, is best known for his law code.
**The film is in Hebrew and will not have subtitles in English.
