THE MOVIE MAVEN: MOVIE REVIEW A MATTER OF SIZE By Daniel M. Kimmel Israeli cinema is not known for its broad comedies, but that may have to change after A Matter of Size, which is both very broad and very funny. Herzl (Itzik Cohen) weighs over 300 pounds and is the shame of his weight loss class as he keeps gaining weight even as he supposedly diets. He's so big, he says, that kids used to mock him as Mt. Herzl.  When he's demoted as salad bar chef to a spot out of the public eye, he quits and ends up with a job at a Japanese restaurant. There he discovers sumo wrestling which feature oversize grapplers who are treated in Japan with great respect. Herzl learns that the owner of the restaurant (Togo Igawa), is a former sumo trainer. He pleads with him to train Herzl and his other overweight pals in the sport. This 2009 Israeli film is being released here the same year a new version of The Karate Kid is coming out, but the similarities are superficial. Both feature a Japanese master of an Asian sport training westerners who gain self-esteem along with their hard won skills, but there the connection ends. What follows in A Matter of Size is a comedy in which the overweight characters strive to turn their negative self-images into positive ones.  It's not easy. As one of them puts it, sumo is a sport featuring two fatsos in diapers and girly hairdos, but these hefty Israelis take it seriously even as they deal with the personal issues in their lives. One thinks his wife is cheating on him. Another is deciding whether to come out of the closet. They have internalized the negative reactions they get from so many people without realizing they are far from universal. For Herzl, the problem is the women in his life. His widowed mother (Evelin Hagoel) loves him but can be a pain as when she chides him about his weight with one breath and urges him to eat with the next. Then there's Zehava (Irit Kaplan), who is also plus-size and becomes the love interest. They're adorable together, until she learns that women can't participate in sumo. Herzl pretends to drop out but secretly continues, and it's a recipe for disaster given that Zehava is twice divorced from men who lied to her. With the exception of a wholly unexpected revelation about one of the characters, there's no politics here. This is a comedy that could take place in any western society where relative affluence leads to people being overweight. The characters are on a journey where they will first have to accept themselves before they can get others to accept them for who they are. And if they means running through the streets wearing nothing but a red diaper, (the traditional garb of the sumo wrestler), it may mean people will stare, but as A Matter of Size makes hilariously clear, that's their problem. *** (Daniel M. Kimmel, a Boston-based film critic and author, reviews Jewish films for the Advocate. He lectures widely on a variety of film-related topics and can be reached at daniel.kimmel@rcn.com.) --The Jewish ForwardVARIETY April 27, 2009  A Matter of Size  Sipur gadol (Israel-Germany-France)  By ALISSA SIMON  A UCM Films (Israel)/Tapuz Communications (Israel)/ K5 Intl. (Germany)/Mact Prods. (France) production. Produced by Chilik Michaeli, Avraham Pirchi, Tami Leon, Oliver Simon, Daniel Baur. Co-producers, Micha Shagrir, Marc Sillam, Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Bill Stephens. Directed by Sharon Maymon, Erez Tadmor. Screenplay by Maymon, Danny Cohen Solal, based on an original idea by Maymon. With: Itzik Cohen, Irit Kaplan, Dvir Benedek, Alon Dahan, Shmulik Cohen, Togo Igawa, Evelin Hagoel. (Hebrew, Japanese dialogue)  Fed up with dieting, four overweight friends in the Israeli city of Ramle decide to start a sumo wrestling club in genial situation comedy "A Matter of Size," from helmers Sharon Maymon and Erez Tadmor. Part sports drama, part love story, this sweetly absurd tale of forlorn blue-collar guys pursuing a difficult goal -- and in the process learning to accept themselves -- recalls audience-pleasing fare such as "The Full Monty." With visual and verbal humor hitting the mark, the pic could attract offers from niche arthouse distribs Stateside. A summer theatrical opening in Israel promises hefty returns.  Shy salad bar chef Herzl (Itzik Cohen) weighs in at a massive 340 lbs. and can't catch seem to catch a break. After getting booted out of his diet group for gaining 28 lbs. in two months, he loses his hotel dining room job when customers complain he's not presentable because of his size.  Winding up as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant, Herzl discovers the world of sumo, where large people are honored and appreciated. It takes some time to convince his heavyweight pals Aharon (Dvir Benedek), Sami (Shmulik Cohen) and Gidi (Alon Dahan) that a sport involving "two fatsos in diapers and girly hairdos" could be for them, but with the reluctant assistance of restaurant owner Kitano (Togo Igawa), they start a training regime.  Co-helmers Maymon and Tadmor ("Strangers") display a finely honed visual sense and superb comic timing in the cleverly composed training sequences. Shots of the four elephantine guys, clad only in their bright red fighting mawashi, as they jog through green fields, perform the graceful ritual warm-ups, and strain to push one another out of an improvised dohyo (wrestling ring) in the forest are ludicrously funny and beautiful.  Meanwhile, Herzl's commitment to a demanding men-only sport threatens his budding relationship with sympathetic plus-size social worker Zehava (Irit Kaplan).  Although the story concept could be set anywhere, and indeed, is ripe for a remake, the laconic script by Maymon and Danny Cohen Solal captures the essence of Israeli Jewish humor with dialogue such as "even on a diet, you have to eat," and "with your mouth, we only talk."  Subplots involving Aharon's wife's infidelity and Gidi's sexual orientation work better to support the main theme of self-acceptance than does one about Zehava's attempt to impose a nutritious diet on female prisoners.  Appealing cast comprises mostly Israeli TV vets who dig into their meaty, flesh-baring roles with palpable joy. Trim Japanese thesp Igawa brings a grave dignity to the proceedings. Colorfully detailed tech package is first-class.  Camera (color) David Gurfinkel; editor, Einat Glaser-Zarhin; music, Eyal Leon Katzav; production designer, Yoram Shayer; costume designer, Inbal Shuki; sound (Dolby SR), Ronen Nagel. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (market), Feb. 10, 2009. (Also in Tribeca Film Festival -- Discovery.) Running time: 92 MIN. --VarietyA Matter of Size Review A Matter of Size Review - EDGE Roger Brigham EDGE Movie Review: A Matter of Size by Roger Brigham EDGE Contributor Thursday Jul 1, 2010 There is a basic principle the rules in the world of sumo wrestling: stand your ground or be shoved aside. It is a theme that resonates throughout "A Matter of Size" and one that should resonate with the queer community. Herzl (Itzek Cohen) is a fat lonely man who has just quit one job as a chef in dissatisfaction and is gaining weight while attending group therapy session with other don t-wannabe whales and living with his mother. He finds happiness when he embraces his true girth and dedicates himself and his friends to the discipline of sumo, and finds greater happiness when he finds the courage to be honest instead of only saying things to please people. There is one character who comes out of the closet, but it is the overall story of the power of self-acceptance and integrity that makes this film a champion. Fat people, guys in loin cloths, Jewish guys dreaming of going to Japan -- there are tons of possibilities for cheap shots and buffoon humor. Writers Sharon Maymon and Danny Cohen-Solal take none of them while delivering a story of good humor and subtle poignancy. Cohen, Levana Finkelstein as his girlfriend Mona and Dvir Benedek as his hot-headed friend and counterpoint are standouts in a solid cast. --Edge Boston