שמלכי (2018): Besetzung, Handlung & Streaming

Released in 2018, שמלכי is a komödie and familie film directed by Raanan Rosenbaum, running about 20 minutes.

What it’s about. The absurdist comedy-drama is centred around a Shmelky puppet (something like a Jewish version of the Muppet Show heroes), which experiences an identity crisis traditional for comedy actors: he thinks of himself as a grand dramatic artist and doesn’t want to sing songs about Shabbat and Mitzvahs in a children’s show anymore. Instead, he wants to perform in a hideous one-man show that he wrote. After his attempts to get rid of the role he is stuck in fail, Shmelky falls into despair - until the entire country, brought up on his simple shows, says to him: “In our complicated world the Chosen People very much need a purple puppet who tells them about Mitzvahs.”

Who’s in it. שמלכי stars Lior Naor as Agent, Esti Zakheim as Chana, Chaim Rothstein Rothstein and Dotan Elad as Shmelky.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch שמלכי page.

If you liked it. Fans of שמלכי tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Parasite, Das Leben ist schön and Fight Club.