Or (My Treasure)

There is a general impression in the minds of cinema goers that films about the taboo topic of prostitution are either too dark or to light. Most of the dark films about prostitution are known to have a sort of documentary touch to them whereas light films about prostitution invariably carry the hackneyed "all prostitutes are beautiful and they have a heart of gold" kind of message.For example: Irma La Douce directed by Billy Wilder and Never on Sunday directed by Jules Dassin. It is not so often that a different kind of film is made which can do justice to the depiction of this disturbing theme.Most of the films about prostitution need to have all the right ingredients in order to carry the proper message to viewers.This film by Keren Yedaya called "Or" is a unique film in the history of Israelian cinema.It is for the first time that the absurdist theme of prostitution has been boldly shown especially in the context of evils which disturb the human mind,body and soul.The film is a success as it depicts that the act of prostitution is a modern day evil which is closely associated with other roguish facets of modern age such as crime and drugs.Or can also be read as a sad tale of an irresponsible mother who is unable to take proper care of her daughter.The bizarre thing about this film is that towards its end the evil practice of prostitution is accepted by a person who was single handedly waging a fierce as well as a heroic battle against it.This is a hint to state that there is no possible end to the vicious circle of evil as circumstances even force a strong willed person to be a part of it.

Get ready for a raw, gritty look at prostitution and how some end up there. While the plot is uncomplicated, the film is unrelenting -- you won't crack so much as a smile; no humor whatsoever here. The story of a prostitute and her teenage daughter is powerfully told. The daughter, predictably, runs the household and has to mother the hopelessly irresponsible mother. They barely get by with the help of the neighbors, who are also the owners of a diner where the daughter works part-time. It's a slice-of-life drama that, while it takes place in Israel, could easily take place anywhere where low expectations meet low self-esteem. Be warned: It doesn't leave you upon leaving the theater.

'Or' means in Hebrew 'light' and may be both a feminine or masculine name. The name is the symbol of what the main character apparently is - a luminous teenager having to deal with a life of privation in today's Israel, taking care of with her prostitute mother and trying to keep her away of the streets, going to school and working in the evenings and having a teen affair with the boy in the neighbors. However, life is not simple for director Keren Yedaya's characters, with the society around keeping them not only at their economic level, but also defining by birth or genetics the moral path of their lives. In the director's view the guilt is however not only with the society but also with the characters themselves, who are not able to draw enough internal power to overcome and break the borders of their condition. It is a social but also a moral comment.

The film belongs to the wave of somehow supported but still low cost wave of production in the Israeli cinema in the last few years, which gave a few more at least interesting and promising productions. Although the subject is interesting and the story has logic and emotion, there are two principal flaws in the production. One is the too obvious and programmatic approach, which kind of pushes the viewer to the director's views rather than letting him develop his or her own feelings abut the story and the situations. The second is the length, there are too many dead moments where it looks like there is nothing to be said, takes where 15 seconds would be enough but the director is spending 50. Still, the film is wonderfully acted by Dana Ivgy and Ronit Elkabetz and the atmosphere of the less privileged Israel is very well caught. A film to watch.

To be perfectly honest, I found it more than slightly perplexing that an Israeli film, in Hebrew, is titled in the IMDb in its French title (in Hebrew, it's titled "Or", a semi-common name meaning "light). The film received impressive accolades at Cannes festival which may explain why France is a major market for this film.

"Or" (Dana Ivgy in a mesmerizing performance) is a teenager that spends the better part of her days on taking care of her mother, Ruthie (Ronit Elkabetz in an equally gut wrenching performance). Ruthie is a recovering (with varying levels of success) drug addict and barely adequate to take care of herself, let alone, support a family. That task is entirely in Or's responsibility and her odd jobs interfere with her educational agenda (which will turn out to be the least of her worries).

What Or is deprived in parenting, she compensates by casual flings with boys who, more often than not, exploit her good nature and a need to be loved for, well, you all know what men want.

Surprisingly enough, despite the harshness of Or's existence, she is a jubilant girl with a very strong bond with her mother and even manages to conduct a border line Friendship/Romance with a pensive classmate, Ido (Nesher Cohen).

Unfortunately (read: inevitably), old demons from the past threaten to shatter the already fragile family and when dubious character's appear on Or and her mother's dilapidating apartment, aided with the outright disapproval of Ido's family to his relationship with Or, the harsh existence calls for cutting corners solutions with devastating effects (which I can't reveal).

This movie is a minimalist movie with no camera movements, no voice over and no music of any kind. I believe it was meant to intensify the experience as opposed to refining it. If that was the objective of the director, it was accomplished fully largely to its raw direction and impressive acting. An objective that was compromised (or maybe unjustly low-prioritized) was depicting a subtle portrait of Or.

Subtlety is very rare commodity in this film. Extensive nudity, graphic sex scenes and other scenes that don't leave anything for imagination turn the already hard to absorb feature into a film that is profoundly gut wrenching but emotionally too disturbing to be enjoyed.

I should note, in the name of objectivity, that the extremely explicit nature of this film (a disturbing trait many Israeli films still hone) might not deter people with a less conservative standpoint than my own but even those of you who are less troubled by nudity, sex and blunt content in general, should expect a very difficult film to watch and for the privilege of a film pondered on long after the screening ends, one must prepare to pay for with a very unnerving viewing.

8 out of 10 in my FilmOmeter.

A story about people, women, which strikes at the heart. A tale which explores the life of a prostitute, and her daughter destined to follow along her path. A camera which skirts around the bodies of the characters. A vision that is intimate, yet distant, non-judgmental. The wasting away of the female flesh, and the reflection of the daughter in the mother, the mother in the daughter. How hopes and dreams begin to whither in the face of circumstance, and how difficult day to day life can be. A beautiful film which elegantly avoid the banalities and triteness of any political statement, yet explores a subject which is inherently political. A must-see if nothing more than for the skillful and intelligent camera.