USHPIZIN
Directed by: Gidi Dar.
Produced by: Rafi Bukaee & Gidi Dar.
Written by: Shuli Rand.
Director of Photography: Amit Yasur.
Edited by: Nadav Harel & Isaac Sehayek.
Music by: Nethaniel Mechaly, Iosif Bardanashvili & Adi Ran.
Released by: Picturehouse.
Language: Hebrew with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: Israel. 90 min. Rated: PG.
With: Shuli Rand, Michal Bat Sheva Rand, Shaul Mizrahi & Ilan Ganani.

During the days between Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and Succoth, the Jewish autumn festival, life isn't easy for Moshe Bellanga and his wife Malli, a Jewish orthodox couple. Both returnees to the faith, they can't pay the rent for their threadbare apartment or afford to build a succah. (According to Leviticus 23:42-43, "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." Like these simple wooden structures, life on earth is also temporary, just one part of existence.) They also lack the four species - date palm branches, myrtle, willow and etrog, a citron-like fruit native to the Holy Land - necessary for the festival celebrations. Besides the financial hardship, it becomes clear that they are suffering because they haven't had children - or better, a son. They need a miracle - a bunch of them.

Their life suddenly changes when they received an anonymous gift of 1,000 shekels and mysteriously their own luxurious succah. They accept both as G-d given blessings, a result of their strong commitment to the Commandments and the power of prayer. After the succah is built, Moshe and Malli pray for ushpizin (holy guests in Aramaic), and when these guests do arrive, including one from Moshe's criminal past, they are probably not what the couple had in mind - boisterous, uncouth, and scheming, to the say the least. The time of Succoth becomes a test of Moshe and Malli's faith and a tense-filled clash between modern Israeli society and Jewish Orthodoxy.

This humorously thoughtful and even at times suspenseful fable presents a unique and insightful look at Jewish Orthodox daily life. As the film progresses, the seeming naivety of the characters concerning their religious commitment is revealed to be anything but that. Both Moshe and Malli are fully drawn characters. Although the film is certainly intended for an audience familiar with the Jewish Orthodox tradition, this ingratiating film, like Moshe and Malli, turns no one away.

As the married couple, both Shuli Rand (the film's writer) and Michael Bat Sheva Rand are marvelous actors and bring a radiant warmth to their characters. This is not surprising if we keep in mind that this movie reflects in many aspects their own spiritual quest (Rand became devoutly Orthodox in 1996). The viewer may also sense the strong spiritual bond between the two actors; they are married in real life. Dirk Hartwig, Skirball Center for Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University
October 19, 2005