Beachside club endures the bombing blues

Mike's Place was the coolest nightclub in Tel Aviv.

A funky blues bar just a stone's throw from the sea, it drew hipsters, beatniks and party animals from around the world. It was the closest thing Israel had to the cantina in "Star Wars," except the beer was cold, the music was cool and the women were hot.

That all came to a horrific halt on April 30, 2003, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the club's entrance. Three innocent people were killed and several injured. Israel's tally of terror grew yet again, but in this case, when the bomb went off, the cameras were rolling.

"Blues by the Beach" is a riveting new film by director Joshua Faudem and producer Jack Baxter. In Israel to make a documentary about the club, they were in the right place at the wrong time.

Baxter, a non-Jew, discovers the bar while on a fact-finding mission to Israel and decides it would make an ideal subject for a documentary.

Little by little, he acclimates himself to the neo-hippie atmosphere of Mike's Place. We meet Gal Ganzman, the pony-tailed owner who opened the club as an oasis of fun and liberalism. If patrons ever start mentioning politics, Ganzman quickly disarms them with, "Are we still talking about sex?"

We meet Avi Tabib, the bouncer with a permanent smile on his face. We meet Dominique Haas, the beautiful French-born waitress and free spirit who, like every barfly there, comes to see Mike's Place as a second home. As the blues bands belt it out, director Faudem's captures all the smoky, boozy essence of the place.

Even knowing what's coming, the shock of the bombing is devastating. We discover the full measure of the horror seemingly in real time, as did those on the scene, and the toll prompts honest gasps and tears of rage. Most importantly, the viewer feels the losses almost as deeply as those who were there.

Among the wounded is Baxter himself, who recovers from burn and shrapnel wounds in the hospital. A few doors down lies Tabib the bouncer, who heroically stopped the bomber from gaining full entrance and causing much more destruction. His life hangs in the balance, but when Faudem's cameras peer into Tabib's room, he manages to drolly flip the bird at the camera. That's when we know he will be OK.

And so will Mike's Place. As is customary in Israel, the community swoops in to clean up the mess and repair the damage as fast as possible. The people refuse to give in to terror, and within a week, Mike's Place is restored.

What began as a documentary about the young and the beautiful becomes a cinematic poem on recovery. Though the film wastes too much time examining the breakup of director Faudem and Czech-born assistant director Pavla Fleischer (ostensibly to show the collateral damage of the bombing), nothing detracts from the power of the memorial held at the club one week later. "We got our home back," says Ganzman.

More than that, Tel Aviv got its nightlife back, and Israel got its fiercely protected freedom back.

Though any filmmaker "lucky" enough to be on the scene of a disaster is bound to get dramatic footage, Faudem and Baxter together weave a beautiful story of survival, determination and, ultimately, of love.

The final fade-out shot of Tabib, back at his post, smiling again, pretty much says it all. "Blues by the Beach" may give some viewers the blues, but for most it will remain as an unforgettable close-up look at humanity at its worst and at its best.




"Blues by the Beach" screens at 12 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, and Thursday, Oct. 27, at Opera Plaza Cinema, 601 Van Ness Ave., S.F. Information: (415) 267-4893.