US director Samuel Fuller once compared filmmaking to a battlefield – an observation which proves itself above and beyond whilst watching Erez Laufer’s documentary, Total Loss – in which he follows the making of director Gur Bentvich’s film, Total Love (2000) on location round the world – from Tel Aviv and Amsterdam to Rishikesh and Goa. Beyond the cross-continent physical journey, Laufer also chronicles the emotional-artistic journey undertaken by director Bentvich, screenwriter Etgar Keret, the principal cast featuring Maor Cohen and Tinkerbell, and the rest of the production crew. At the heart of the film is the task of “guerilla conditions” filmmaking vs. the anarchy and flurry of surprises that reality keeps springing on the crew, including volatile weather, over-the-top actors and the countless constraints imposed on the production by the Indian authorities. This is a film about filmmaking, friendship, and creation.
