FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
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
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