Goodbye, New York


Goodbye, New York is a 1985 Israeli-American comedy drama produced, directed and written by Amos Kollek in his directorial debut, who also co-stars alongside Julie Hagerty.
The story follows an American woman who accidentally ends up in Israel instead of Paris. She experiences adventures in the country, including life in a kibbutz, love, and heartbreak, before ultimately deciding to return to Paris.
The film was shot in New York and various locations in Israel, including Ein Gev, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea, Ben Gurion Airport, and more.
Teddy Kollek makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Plot

A ditzy New Yorker is devastated to learn that her husband has been unfaithful and impulsively decides to go to Paris to escape. When she consumes too many sedatives and oversleeps on the plane, missing her connection, she winds up in Tel Aviv, penniless and with no luggage or friends. After connecting with a cabdriver and part-time soldier, she finds herself stranded on a kibbutz near the Golan Heights where she must learn to cope with a series of misadventures and a very unfamiliar lifestyle.

Cast

of The New York Times said the film possesses "an easygoing charm that, among Israeli films, is rare", presenting "witty impressions of Israeli life" and the clash of cultures. Candace Russell of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel likened Kollek's "absurdist worldview and droll understatement" to that of Woody Allen. While People thought the film "likable" and "genial", the reviewers noted its "uneven" script and direction, and a "sometimes contrived or just plain silly" plot. London's Time Out was more unequivocal, dismissing the "thin and clichéd material", its "predictable plot and dismal propaganda about the values of kibbutz culture."