Manpower

Synopsis

It is a very cold day in Auschwitz, so cold that the breath of MEIR COHEN, a decorated police officer, is visible. Standing in formation with his fellow officers, at a memorial service, he wipes a disobedient tear, proud to be there. However, decorations are worth shit at the bank. Meir and his wife are swamped with mortgage payments, phone, electricity, gas, food...The police paycheck is a joke. Their small flat is in a derelict area of Tel Aviv, now a thriving quarter inhabited by migrant workers. A pillar of the quarter is NANA ASIBA ADU, Ghanaian, Vice President of the African Workers Union in Israel. He and his wife have been living in Israel for nine years; his child goes to an Israeli kindergarten When Meir's ATM card is swallowed, again, he decides to join the new well-funded Police Immigration Unit. The first briefing he gets is a rooftop lookout at the migrant workers' quarter – "the target" says his new chief pointing down. Down there is the "World Cup" semi-final between Ghana and Columbia. Nana is playing for Ghana, a great team, coached by CHAIM BEN CHAIM, a 71 y/o Sherut Taxi driver. Sherut taxis are vans that cross the city of Tel-Aviv, following the bus routes. With his children living overseas, Chaim forms a family bond with Nana and his team. The result is a well-organized highly motivated team, which wins the match and will play Romania in the cup final scheduled for Christmas. Unbeknownst to them, the deportation plan is forming in full power. Meir breaks into people homes, hunts them at convenience stores, and grabs them coming off buses. It is horrible. He realizes the new unit is all about meeting unrealistic political quotas but he has to play along. He slowly becomes numb and dumb, breaks families apart as his life breaks apart too. His dreams of a great police career and his strong convictions about police work are shattered. PATRICK MAPOY, an 18 y/o Israeli-Filipino, is on an opposite track. He yearns to serve and protect his country, but does his country yearn for him? Which is his country anyway? Born to a Philippine mother he feels like an Israeli as he jogs the streets of the migrants' quarter every morning in preparation for the military service. He needs to convince the authorities that he is an Israeli, he needs to prove to them that he belongs, he needs to change the rules. The rules are made in high rises and luxurious offices where EFRAIM BARNOF is a regular. High above all of this he is busy selling arms representing Israel Military Industries. He manages to set up an arms deal with the Turkish government and now is looking for a commodity to purchase from Turkey as barter. Christmas arrives; the World Cup final with it, and despite the deportation, everyone is in holiday spirits. Nana is organizing the match and Chaim is preparing the team. Patrick manages to prove his "Israeliness" and gets his ass kicked at boot camp. Watching his mother's Philippine caregiver BARNOF comes to realize that Israel and Turkey can easily exchange tanks for migrant workers. He brings it up and everybody likes it, thinking he is a genius. Merely a sharp observer he mumbles. Meir and his fellow officers raid the Cup Final in a massive attack on the migrant workers community. Chaim is devastated. Nana is broken. Coming home for the first time, proud, with a weapon and fresh uniform Patrick sees his mother brutally arrested by Immigration Police. Feeling humiliated and betrayed he fires in the air. He ends in a military prison. But, he is an Israeli citizen, setting a precedent for others to come. In contrast, Nana and many others realize Israel will never accept them and they depart to Ghana. The empty apartments are quickly filled with new hands, fresh from Turkey. For Chaim it is a small comfort to find the Turks are just as keen on football. Barnof's deal goes through; he is promoted, but loses his mother's caregiver, which they all miss dearly. As a result, his mother's condition deteriorates rapidly and she dies. Opening the door for the grieving family is Meir, working at the luxury apartment building as a doorkeeper. He is happy with his new job, smiling courteously, proud again of being a father.