Bombay Beach

Guardian“An eerily compelling documentary about lost souls in a lost place” Har'el tells the story of three or four of these marginal souls, and does so with compassion and insight. All these lives are recounted with flair and an eye for an exotic tale. It's a rich slice of Americana.

The Observer“Compelling, highly self-conscious documentary...” This feature debut by the Israeli photographer and installation artist Alma Har'el is an impressionistic, poetic portrait of down-and-outers living lives of desperation in a desert slum in inland California...

Time Out“This is a film about sound and image more than story...” Har’el’s film is at times bizarrely uplifting, at others crushingly sad, the crisp, artful photography, often drenched in rich magic-hour sunlight, is simply breathtaking.

The Independent“part refuge from and part rebuke to the American Dream... ” A soundtrack featuring Bob Dylan and Beirut gives a poetic lift to the visual desolation, while Har'el takes a determinedly upbeat line on this poor, tough, insular community.

Little White Lies“Alma Har’el’s dazzling documentary is an unlikely trip well worth takin” However, Har’el’s film finds an uplifting beauty through dreamlike choreographed dance scenes creating an enjoyable but quietly unsettling trip to the fringes of the American dream.

Empire“Dreamlike in tone and with a bleached, almost colourless palette...” Alma Har’el uncovers the Saltons Seas raw beauty with a blend of observational work and passages of choreographed dance. It sounds absurd, but it emits a rare and powerful hold, making it quite unforgettable.

Total Film “Quirky, moving and unique...” it’s a haunting bedside view of the place the American Dream went to die. Filmmaker Alma Har’el’s hybrid docu-musical project is a social portrait daubed with surreal interludes of dance.