Arranged

Nasira and Rochel are the daughters of a Koranic scholar and Orthodox Jewish fathers beginning their teaching careers at a NY elementary school, who are drawn together by their common experience of belonging to conservative religious communities. The film's title focuses on the issue of arranged marriage, but the two women are only subjected to fairly mild forms of arm-twisting associated with this patriarchal custom. The main theme is their friendship across a cultural divide, which provides support as they resist the school principal's disapproval of their beliefs and parental pressure to marry.

Nasira's father is portrayed as a traditionalist who simply cannot envision his daughter's future without marriage and children. He offers only minimal resistance when Nasira rejects his chosen prospect - and the father-daughter relationship appears to be strengthened by the episode. Meanwhile Rochel resists a comical onslaught from her mother and a gaggle of marriage arrangers when they present her with a parade of socially inept suitors. Her mother bullies her with warnings about family disgrace and lifelong spinsterhood, and blames her for her father's rising blood pressure.

Francis Benhamou and Zoe Lister Jones deliver fine performances as Nasira and Rochel. They are backed up by their support cast as the screenplay and direction navigate a narrow passage between melodrama and realism. By the time the story reaches its conclusion, only the most stubborn cynic will remain immune to these unusual heroines.

I saw Arranged at SXSW festival, I was somewhat skeptical of the concept beforehand but was in for a nice surprise. The film is what I'd call a chick-flick, but unfortunately I have admit I really liked it.

I could ramble on about the performances of the actors, but I'd like to talk about structure (my favorite). I'm a fan of innovative films (another reason why I should not have liked this one), but more importantly I'm a fan of films who can enter the mainstream of distribution plainness and still fly high above the "average" arena.

This film differs from the mainstream but still manages to stay in there. And that's why I liked it very much. It brings up important questions about how society labels in terms of religion, it manages to create a heartwarming relationship between girlfriends, the main character goes on a soul searching journey and most importantly the resolution is very well executed (here is where most films just fall into the pit of over-simplifying).

A good good film, surprisingly good, especially for my taste.

An excellent film.

Summary: A traditional Muslim girl and Jewish girl work together at a school in Brooklyn. Together they experience what it means to adhere to religious and cultural convictions while pursuing one's happiness.

I respect the fact that both Muslims and Jews can live in harmony. I hope the world can learn from this and live in peace. I have friends of many different faiths and living in America gives us the freedom to live peacefully. Amazing. The movie accurately portrays what today's generation of religious Muslims and Jews go through in respect to family pressure and cultural convictions. I could relate to both of the characters and wished for both of the girls' happiness. I hope there are more movies like this to come, consisting of all types of cultures and religions.

This is a delightful and thoughtful comedy.

Two supposedly diametrically opposed worlds meet in Rochel (Zoe Lister-Jones) an orthodox Jew and Nasira (Francis Benhamou) a Muslim.

Both woman are teachers who find that as they both have to find their husbands through the arranged marriage process they have more in common with each other than the secular world.

The delight is that is is a pretty straight-up great romantic comedy - Rochel keeps being set up with the wrong guys, Nasira gets the embarrassing dinner etc; of course, the road to true love is not smooth...

It really is very funny, witty - and well acted, especially Francis Benhamou as Nasira, who is stunning and positively lights up the screen with her smile.

Just a lovely film that deserves all the play it can get, and definitely deserves to be seen by anyone who loves romantic comedies.

Warmly recommended.

Arranged is a beautifully shot and written film that will pull you right into a story that we all hope happens. An Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman are both teachers who meet and become friends, learning about each other without the fraught biases that so often stop such a natural connection. In this case it's also a sensitive look at marriages often condemned as arranged and overly religious but quite often happening in a positive and consensual way. The film is quite an accomplishment. I saw it at SXSW and the audience was enthralled, teary and ultimately happy - a testament to the power of this film to help cross bridges and wipe away stereotypes.