Fill The Void


Transplant Lizzie Bennett or Marianne Dashwood and their families into the ultra traditional Haredi Jewish Community in Tel Aviv. Add to the mix, the death during childbirth of a much beloved elder sister and complicate with the collective need of the family for the younger sister to marry her former brother in law....and you get the gist of Fill The Void.( At Theatre Clwyd this evening)
The traditions and customs of this religious community may be as alien to a general audience as tropical fish but the Jane Austen flavour of the romance amid a claustrophobic set of relatives is as familiar to everyone as Kate Winslett in a busty frock.
Rama Burshstein has crafted a fascinating story which centres about the coming of age and wisdom of the teenage  Shira ( Hadas Yaron) who has to balance out her family's need for her to marry her grieving brother in law and her own need to self determination. Her journey, typically of Austin , runs an uneven path, a path which is ambiguously outlined by Burshstein , a director who underplays all the messages in the drama.
I loved the fact that Shira's favourite aunt Hanna ( Razia Israli ) is armless...a fact that is never explained or highlighted in the story......it  is a fact that is gently and subtly made known as the plot unfolds........
A surreal fact in a very understandable story.
One sequence lingers long in the mind.  As Shira eventually gets married and is congratulated by a succession of female relatives, she is seen to descend into an emotional and religious fugue state , it a a piece of cinema which is beautiful and incredibly moving to watch
8/10

21 comments:

  1. I wish I could go to Theatre Clwyd. That movie sounds right up my alley.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. I'll treat you ......it's a lovely theatre... And one of the few places of culture in the whole of north wales

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    2. Will you also treat me to the trip to Wales?

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  2. Not a barrel of laughs then?
    Jane x

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    1. A bit like FIDDLER ON THE ROOF slowed down

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  3. what a beautiful review!
    and i like that the aunt's armless status is unexplained. There are many times that a disabled or ill character could fulfil their role in a story without impacting the narrative or theme, just as in real life a person can be affected but not defined by a disability or illness.
    We need more of that kind of example in popular culture.

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  4. Right now, during this winter of our discontent, I am looking for happy, and don't think humor plays a part in this film. However, do they sing, fall over, curse, or have bad manners? I could be up for that.

    Have you seen Nebraska? This might be American humor, though. Every time that film comes to mind, I find a reason to laugh (even though, there is a sad story to be told throughout the film.)

    Your reviews are always good, and you influence my choices as to what I will spend an outrageous amount of money on to entertain myself. Right now, though, I need fun and not someone else's pain.

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    1. I suspect I would hate it......
      And I understand your need for uplifting cinema
      I get like that sometimes x

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  5. I have just seen this movie a couple of days ago! And it was sooooooo good! The not so clear ending left me hanging a little bit. What do you think happened behind the scenes? Did the note that she gave to the Rabbi state that she loved her brother in law? I hope that the ending was meant that way. It was such a beautiful story.

    And on a side note: her brother in law is some hottie in real life. Did you google some pictures of him? I did. (Don't tell.)

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    1. I think that she did ask the rabbi to condone the marriage
      The ending, I think just underlined how young and inexperienced she was

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    2. Ps
      http://film-forward.com/documentary/law-disorder-at-the-new-york-film-festival-2011

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    3. Hehe, they are singing his praises. He sure is a good looking fella'.

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  6. Hello John,
    just popped over to have a look round after you left a comment on my blog. And now I have added your blog to my reading list.

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  7. i hope I can download it or rent it?

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  8. I met someone who was asked by his family to marry his sister-in-law after his brother was killed in WWII because 'she wanted to remain in the family'. He did, even though he told me he 'wasn't the marrying kind, if you know what I mean'.

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  9. A little thoughtful and probably too tasteful for this here nethandral man, although your review does make me curious enough perhaps to venture out of my cave to see it.

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  10. This sounds really good, I may even give it a watch :-)

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  11. Gawd, you don't half like them deep and meaningful? My sister told me about a film that she went to see at the weekend which she thoroughly enjoyed. I can't remember the name but it's about a cowboy who develops Aids through his various heterosexual relationships and who is given medication which doesn't work so he goes in search of an alternative cure in Mexico. Ring any bells? Also, she says the lead in the film was Tom Somebody? I know, we're collectively hopeless.x

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    1. I haven't seen the movie, but I think it's 'Dallas Buyers Club' with Matthew McConaughey.

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    2. That's it Iris! and I did ask her if it was Matthew McConaughey and she said 'no, his name was Tom'!lol (Matthew is in a new detective series starting on Sky Atlantic soon called 'True Detective' - apparently it's a winner.) Apologies to John for hijacking his post!x

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