The Secrets

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Movie
German title The Secrets
Original title Ha-Sodot
Country of production France , Israel
original language Hebrew , French , English
Publishing year 2007
length 120 minutes
Rod
Director Avi Nesher
script Hadar Galron ,
Avi Nesher
production Avi Nesher,
David Silver
music Daniel Salomon
camera Michel Abramowicz
cut Isaac Sehayek
occupation

The Secrets (Original title: Hebrew הסודות, Ha-Sodot ) is a 2007 French - Israeli drama film directed by Avi Nesher .

action

Naomi is the determined and devout daughter of an Orthodox rabbi who wants to marry her to Michael, one of his students. Since she would rather study the scriptures of the Torah than become the subordinate of a man she does not love, Naomi plans to attend a theological seminary for women in the holy city of Safed for a year . After her mother dies, her father gives her permission. In the seminar she meets Michal, a young woman who has traveled from France and who was enrolled in the seminar by her parents in order to lead her back on the right path. Because Michal, who everyone prefers to be called Michelle, is the absolute opposite of Naomi, who suffers from asthma . She smokes, rebels, and has a free spirited outlook on life. They have to share a room with two other girls, which inevitably leads to problems.

When Naomi and Michal are given the task of bringing food to destitute women in the seminar, they meet the terminally ill French woman Anouk, who has been living in Safed for a few months. Michal finds out on the Internet that Anouk spent fifteen years in prison for the murder of her lover. She had once left her husband and two children for her lover, a painter, to live with the artist in Safed. When he left, she killed him and went back to France, where she was tried. Anouk now has incurable cancer and a weak heart. In the Jewish faith, she hopes to find forgiveness and redemption before she dies. She asks Michal and Naomi to help her come to terms with God - the local rabbi has refused to do so. Michal feels sympathy for Anouk from the beginning, while Naomi rather reluctantly agrees to perform a tikkun , a cleansing ritual process of Kabbalah , with the mysterious woman .

During the common rituals with Anouk - they take a ritual bath with Anouk and burn nudes that show Anouk in voluptuous ecstasy - a close friendship develops between Naomi and Michal, from which deeper affection soon develops. When Naomi invites Michal to her parents' house and they spend the night together in their children's room, they have a sexual encounter. While Naomi sees the night together as an initiation , Michal is rather insecure. As their conservative environment disapproves of lesbian relationships, they find themselves forced to keep their love for one another a secret.

Although Anouk's health is deteriorating noticeably - she has to go to the hospital more and more often because of severe pain - the two girls carry out the tikkun to the end at Anouk's request. After Anouk is redeemed and blissfully died in her presence in the hospital, Naomi and Michal are excluded from the seminar. The rabbi and her teacher learned about the tikkun from their roommate Sigi. Naomi, who had already broken off her engagement, now also breaks off contact with her family. She wants to have a relationship with Michal while continuing to study the scriptures. But Michal, who also got to know the klezmer musician Yanki in Safed and has met him again and again, decides to marry him and thus to a traditional life. Naomi then withdraws deeply injured. Nevertheless, she decides to go to Michal and Yanki's wedding, where she finally forgives her friend.

background

The house in Safed where Anouk lived in the film

Director Avi Nesher wanted to make a film about Orthodox Jews and the teaching of Kabbalah when he was still studying at Columbia University in New York . When he moved to Israel and discovered that conservative Jewish society was little different from fundamentalist Muslims when it came to women's rights , he began working on The Secrets . He then wrote the script together with Hadar Galron. Galron had once attended a seminar similar to that of the girls in the film and was therefore able to bring her own experiences to bear in her work.

The film was shot in Israel, where it premiered on June 14, 2007. On September 8, 2007, it was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival , which was followed by several other film festivals such as the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and the Barcelona Jewish Film Festival.

Reviews

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times described the film as "a very engaging melodrama" that has everything to make a story interesting. It is actually "a conventional story" that has more to offer. With “gentle” and “haunting” representations, the film is “careful” with the characters, “so that although they follow a somehow predictable path, they still have surprises in store for us”. Stephen Holden of the New York Times found that with the appearance of Michal and Anouk "played by the great [...] Fanny Ardant", the film became "a fascinating, at times contradicting mixture of sober Israeli and sensual French film traditions". Holden also praised "the passionate portrayals of Bukstein, Shtamler and Ardant", which "give the drama enough emotional hold to prevent it from breaking up into shallow entertainment".

Robert Koehler from Variety , on the other hand, was not very impressed : “With an exotic Jewish subculture, a French star and a lesbian love affair, Avi Nesher's The Secrets seems to cover all groups of cinema art lovers.” The film “about a group of Kabbalah students who are around take care of an outsider ”, was“ over-the-top ”and dragged on. “Serious issues” would be on the verge of “unintentional comedy”. The film also seems to have no end. The production is solid, but too average for the cinema.

Danielle Riendeau from AfterEllen.com stated that the film still had “a wonderful sense of humor” given “the depressing subject matter and serious tone”. The result is “a film that is moving, profound and never boring”. The actors' performances are “amazing”, especially “the wonderfully nuanced performance of Bukstein”, next to which Ardant and Shtamler also played their roles “superbly”.

Awards

The Secrets received eight nominations for the Israel Film Academy Award in the categories of Best Actress (Ania Bukstein), Best Supporting Actress (Michal Shtamler), Best Supporting Actor (Adir Miller), Best Production Design, Best Costumes, Best Music, Best Sound, and Best Editing. Another nomination was for the GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Film - Limited Release category.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. filmmakermagazine.com ( Memento from April 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ “Avi Nesher's The Secrets , a deeply involving melodrama, has all the devices to draw us into this story. In some ways, it is a traditional narrative. But it is more. It is gently and powerfully acted. And it is thoughtful about its characters, so that even though they follow a somewhat predictable arc, they contain surprises for us. " Roger Ebert : The Secrets . In: Chicago Sun-Times , February 25, 2009.
  3. ↑ “After two French characters, one played by the great French actress Fanny Ardant, are introduced, the movie becomes an intriguing, occasionally discordant hybrid of austere Israeli and voluptuous French filmmaking traditions. [...] the passionate performances of Ms. Bukstein, Ms. Shtamler and Ms. Ardant lend The Secrets enough emotional solidity to prevent it from entirely dissolving in the suds. " Stephen Holden : When Faith Meets Feminism . In: The New York Times , November 25, 2008.
  4. ↑ "With an exotic Jewish subculture, a French star and a lesbian love affair, Avi Nesher's The Secrets would appear to have all the art cinema demographic bases covered. […] Drama about a group of Kabbalah students caring for an outcast is excessively overwrought and drawn out. Serious topics risk tilting into unintended comedy. […] Pic never seems to end […]. Production is clean but cinematically undistinguished. " Robert Koehler: The Secrets . In: Variety , September 10, 2007.
  5. ↑ “Despite the very heavy themes and serious overall tone, the film has a wonderful sense of humor […]. The result is a film that is moving, deep and never boring. [...] The acting is nothing short of astounding, with a wonderfully nuanced performance from Bukstein. Ardant and Shtalmer [sic] are also quite excellent. " Danielle Riendeau, cf. afterellen.com ( Memento from February 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive )