FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
OR (MY TREASURE)
Here, an Israeli mother and daughter relationship is reversed. Teenager Or
(Dana Ivgy) reassures and looks after her mother, fortyish Ruthie (Ronit
Elkabetz), who's more like a teenager, wearing too-tight, garish clothes,
exposing much midriff. After a recuperating Ruth returns from the hospital
for being "a bit depressed," Or, when she's away at school, locks Ruthie
within their small and cluttered apartment to ensure she doesn't resort
again to prostitution. And in the morning, Or wakes her up, urging her to
arrive on time at her new job as a housecleaner. But after a short time
scrubbing floors, Ruthie falls back again on her old way of life, creeping
out of the apartment at night, getting drunk, and having an anonymous tryst
on the street. The rent being now past due, Ruthie offers herself to the
landlord. He passes; he has his eyes on the attractive Or.
Both of the lead performances are candidly remarkable. The actresses share
a casual intimacy; Ruthie and Or shower together, while washing their clothes in the stall as they
engage in small talk. The camera is static,
capturing daily activities as Or and Ruthie drift in and out of frame,
though many of the one-take scenes, such as Or washing dishes at her after
school job, become redundant. At first, the film may seem dispassionate, but
that is not the case. The audience will no doubt be alarmed at the decisions
Or will eventually make. At which point, when Or follows in her mother's
footsteps, the camera effectively reflects her point of view.
Director/writer Keren Yedaya's prevents her film from being schematic,
offering a complex view of sex and class. It's abundantly clear that Or
behaves the way that she does because of how she was raised, out of love for
her ailing mother, and perhaps because of how she sees herself. When the
mother of her boyfriend tells both Or and Ruthie that, in so many words, Or
isn't good enough for her son, Ruthie too readily acquiesces and Or
complies. In following Or's entry into the sex trade, Yedaya offers no
facile explanations, which may be frustrating to some, but bluntly thought provoking to
others. Kent Turner
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