13 Best Israeli Movies to Watch

By Vlad Zakh · September 1, 2026

Israeli cinema keeps confronting the country’s wars directly, often from inside a single tank, checkpoint or animated memory, and the best of it takes real formal risks alongside the unavoidable subject matter. Fill the Void has an Orthodox woman pressed to marry her late sister’s widower, Zero Motivation sets two bored conscripts in a desert office, and Beaufort holds a doomed outpost through its final days. Late Marriage, Waltz with Bashir, Lebanon, Foxtrot, The Band’s Visit, Ajami and The Cakemaker round out the list.

Fill the Void (2012)

TMDB ★ 6.9

An Orthodox Jewish woman is pressured to marry her late sister's widowed husband.

Directed by Rama Burshtein · 1h 30m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Zero Motivation (2014)

TMDB ★ 6.8

Two bored young women serve out their mandatory army service in an isolated desert office.

Directed by Talya Lavie · 1h 37m

Where to watch

Stream: Chai Flicks · Rent or buy: Amazon Video

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Late Marriage (2001)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A PhD student's secret relationship with a divorced woman collides with his family's marriage plans for him.

Directed by Dover Koshashvili · 1h 42m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Chai Flicks

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Beaufort (2007)

TMDB ★ 7.0

Israeli soldiers hold a doomed outpost through the last days before withdrawal from Lebanon.

Directed by Joseph Cedar · 2h 11m

Where to watch

Stream: Chai Flicks

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Walk on Water (2004)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A Mossad agent posing as a tour guide befriends the grandson of the Nazi he's been sent to find.

Directed by Eytan Fox · 1h 43m

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Ajami (2009)

TMDB ★ 7.4

Interlocking stories of Jewish, Muslim and Christian residents collide in a tense Jaffa neighbourhood.

Directed by Yaron Shani & Scandar Copti · 2h 00m

Where to watch

Stream: Chai Flicks, Kino Film Collection · Rent: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Band's Visit (2007)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A stranded Egyptian police orchestra spends an unplanned night in a small, unwelcoming Israeli town.

Directed by Eran Kolirin · 1h 23m

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Foxtrot (2017)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A family's grief over their son's death splits into three very different perspectives on loss.

Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa · 1h 52m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Lebanon (2009)

TMDB ★ 7.3

An entire Lebanon War battle is shown almost exclusively from inside one claustrophobic tank.

Directed by Samuel Maoz · 1h 33m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 97% Metacritic 91

An Israeli veteran pieces together his lost memories of the 1982 Lebanon War through a series of conversations.

Directed by Ari Folman · 1h 30m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar46 wins & 63 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Cakemaker (2017)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A German baker travels to Jerusalem and quietly works his way into the life of his dead lover's widow.

Directed by Ofir Raul Graizer · 1h 53m

Where to watch

Stream: Chai Flicks, Strand Releasing Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Big Bad Wolves (2013)

TMDB ★ 7.0

A grieving father and a vigilante cop take matters into their own hands with a suspected child murderer.

Directed by Navot Papushado & Aharon Keshales · 1h 50m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel, Warriors and Gangsters Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Synonyms (2019)

TMDB ★ 6.7

An Israeli man attempts to erase his identity and reinvent himself as thoroughly French in Paris.

Directed by Nadav Lapid · 2h 03m

Where to watch

Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

13 Best Israeli Movies to Watch

Fill the Void (2012)

Zero Motivation (2014)

Late Marriage (2001)

Beaufort (2007)

Walk on Water (2004)

Ajami (2009)

The Band's Visit (2007)

Foxtrot (2017)

Lebanon (2009)

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

The Cakemaker (2017)

Big Bad Wolves (2013)

Synonyms (2019)

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