Clara Hakedosha

On the surface, Saint Clara presents itself as a clever and amusing dystopian look at modern society. The central characters inhabit a town of featureless block buildings and deserted streets. Golda Meir High seems to be completely empty except for the principal, one teacher, and one class. And the TV in all the houses are tuned to the same show, in which a wild haired woman makes cryptic prophecies of doom and destruction.

Underneath all of this, however, is a traditional folk tale of an alienated young boy who falls in love and makes his peace with society. The boy, the town, and you the viewer learn just how unimportant are things like fame, fortune, and power. And all along the way you are entertained with tales of magic and humorous anecdotes. Long ago, this is the type of tale with which a traveling minstrel would have held your fascination. Remove the post-apocalyptic stylizations and this becomes very reminiscent of the early stories of Isaac B. Singer, which I assume are themselves done in the style of traditional Yiddish folk tales.

Don't be put off by the idea of having to sit through a moral lesson; the movie is never didactic or preachy. When you finally see the lesson at the end, it just makes the characters seem that much real and the stories that much more entertaining. This is a short and not particularly ambitious movie, but it succeeds completely in those things which it does set out to accomplish.

A class of Israeli junior high kids has discovered a miracle in its midst. One of the students, Clara, a 13 year old Russian immigrant, has begun to see the future. This singular talent arrives suddenly like an unexpected blessing from the gods of puberty, and for a few exciting days, Clara's predictions about math tests and lottery numbers turn her world upside down.

And what a world it is. The film, released in 1996, is set three years in the future in an absurdist, industrial cityscape. The school kids talk tough about revolution as they tromp through polluted swamps and through streets lined with huge squares of beehive apartment buildings. The city seems on the very cusp of apocalypse, though it's not clear whether the final crisis will arise from a man-made ecological disaster or from the hand of God in the form of an earthquake. Meanwhile, the revolution threatens to develop into a new religion, with Saint Clara at the center. The entire city listens for her predictions, adult men get crushes on her, and of course the boys in her class end up fighting over her.

To complicate things for Clara, her powers may disappear if she falls in love. One of her admirers, Tikel, has a good chance with her though. He's obsessed with her violet eyes, and chicks always fall for that--at least in junior high. "I think your visions come from your eyes," he tells her.

"Saint Clara" really is about as good as films get. It is a beautiful thing to be able to imagine the near-future, accelerate the world's problems slightly, and then just continue to smile at life. In this way, "Saint Clara" is reminiscent of the irresistibly optimistic films Wim Wenders made during the 1990s. Perhaps the film's best surprise, however, is the voracious, adolescent energy which tints its vision. All the kids in the film are bursting with potential, thirsty for life; and the adults are sad but charming caricatures, thinly-veiled trolls and witches, forever dreaming of their lost youth. A naive misconception, certainly, but here it is also fantastically endearing.

Kudos to Kino Video for making this gem available on video. And don't miss the sweet little film at the end of the tape: "Personal Goals."

As I watched this movie, I was unsure whether it was trying to present a realistic image of common Israeli lives, or if it was complete fantasy. It had the wacky characters and a cinematographic/color style reminiscent of Pedro Almodovar films, although with absolutely none of the exuberance. The featureless architectures colored in dreary pastels, located in grassy nowheres, then juxtaposed in other scenes with environments covered in concrete, lent a very odd and bleak feeling to the film. Buildings seemed devoid of humanizing artistic style--although the style of the film itself was very distinct. Every place seemed deserted, even when there were pedestrians around (walking in all directions without apparent regard to the paths of roads and sidewalks, somewhat like zombies). Often, there was what looked like cement plants nearby, as well as glass objects handy for shattering. The sky seemed to be perpetually overcast, or in twilight, except in the night scenes. Fortunately, there were no references, visual or otherwise, to religion or Israel's governmental politics. If there had been, it would have created a familiarity, corrupting the weird vibe of the film's environment. It was like watching the inhabitants of a semi-abandoned wasteland, a place which could exist anywhere.

This was an interesting film, and I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like it. Was it entertaining? I'm still not sure, although as a comedy, it wasn't really about laughs, but more about quirks.

I can't figure out if people are deliberately ignoring this movie or if they just don't get it. Frankly, I don't know if *I* get this crazy little fable about love, belonging, & identity.

Young Clara is unbelievably brilliant, and extraordinarily magical - literally - which is not necessarily a bonus at Golda MeirJunior High, which looks like post-apocalyptic public schooling even if I don't know much about Israel's educational system. Taunted by the "cool boys," who also use her to cheat on tests, Clara quickly becomes the object of the affection of one of them. What follows is stylized, visually exciting, and pretty damn cool, as Clara learns that it's love that will eventually deprive her of her super-powers. Oh, the end of the world is hinted at as well.

There's nothing specifically Israel or Jewish-oriented about this film, except the setting (unless I am missing something - a subtext?), and to me that's why it works. The directors make style a priority and the young actors (as well as the fabulous nutjob that plays Uncle Elvis) fare far better in the sincerity and believability department than any American actors. There's a human-centered element that makes this very easy to grab onto and hold.

A wonderful movie.

After stumbling upon this movie, it has turned into one of my favorites. Despite the subscripts it was still able to capture me. Almost as if I knew the language. Grant it, it's about children, but thats the beauty of it. The fact that she's magical or whatever is just a surface texture, the deeper meaning and feeling this movie brings out, is what really struck me. I urge anyone who hasnt seen it, to see it, and anyone who has, I would like to know if you agree with me. This movie happened to have a very powerful effect on me, and I think its brilliant.