Casamento Arranjado

Late Marriage is one of the best Israeli films in many years. It is to the credit of director Dover Kashashivili to translate it to the screen into one of the frankest depiction of a love affair seen in recent memory. The director avoids the clichés of other films that pretend to show a sexual relationship between two lovers in a a film. He doesn't leave anything to our imagination as the characters of this story clearly show us.

The two main actors, Lior Ashkenazi, Zaza, and Ronit Elkabetz, the Judith of the story, are mature individuals who obviously feel a passionate love for one another. They're powerless against the wishes of Zaza's family who are hell bent into separating them. Never mind that is very obvious how both feel about each other. She's an older divorcée who obviously will be the ruin of the scholarly Zaza.

Both Mr. Ashkenazy and Ms. Elkabetz could give acting lessons to our repressed so-called movie stars. Their passion is on the surface for us to see and feel. What we really enjoyed was the way these two actors act against each other in what could have been very embarrassing scenes. They pulled it off with panache.

The ensemble cast is very good, but of course, they don't come close to the stars who take the film and run away with it. Let's hope we can see more of them in other Israeli films.

Mazel tov!

This is a charming little film that depicts very well the sectarian differences within the Israeli community. Although the contrary of a feel good movie, the script of Hatuna Meuheret is very light and the film contains even some hilarious moments camouflaging the underlying sadness and bigotry. Wonderful acting especially by the actors who play the parents of the groom to be. Moshonov, who plays the father of the groom, had actually learned Georgian for the part and speaks nothing else the entire film. Pretty amazing!

I thought this movie achieved two remarkable things: First, it defies conventional categorization. It is a comedy and a family drama and a steamy romance. It manages to transcend geography as well: This could have easily taken place in the US, Italy or any one of a number of countries.

Second, I thought that each scene was surprising and inventive and unexpected. I could not have predicted what was going to happen next, but each successive scene made perfect sense.

I highly recommend this movie to fearless moviegoers who value clever plotting and ingenuity.

This movie doesn't seem like it should be that fantastic, as the tradition-versus-modernity relationship topic is well-trodden in foreign films to say the least, but I absolutely couldn't take my eyes off of this well-acted, well-scripted work. Zaza's parents steal the show, both comically and tragically as a couple unable to fully confront the "elephant in the room", the re-opening of their own relationship scars caused by witnessing their son's own struggle. Meanwhile Lior Askenazi fills out his role brilliantly as the entangled groom-to-be, whose only escape from his unsolvable dilemma is to sink as deeply as possible into his aloof, impulsive persona. Also, Askenazi's character reminds me uncannily of my friend Mike Goldstein, so Mike, if you're reading this, see this movie immediately! And the same goes for everyone else. Yasher Koach!

"Late Marriage (Hatuna Meuheret)" makes "Monsoon Wedding" seem like a commercial Hollywood flick in comparison in dealing with a similar theme -- families imposing traditional marriage on an adult son in today's world.

This film is an intense and heartbreaking examination of a Georgian Russian immigrant family pushing tradition on an older son in very modern Israel. Through a very gradual unveiling as we learn more and more about each member of the family and relationships, every character is strongly individually wrought, flaws and all, complex sympathies and all.

The blunt scenes demonstrating traditional relationships are paralleled with extremely frank contemporary ones.

I thought at first that the lack of a soundtrack virtually up until the closing scene was due to writer/director Dover Koshashvili's obvious minuscule budget. Instead the closing band music punctuates a bittersweet, ironic tension-builder as the audience waits anxiously to see how the central figure of Zaza/Dooby resolved his unresolvable philosophical, familial and romantic dilemmas amidst very competitive, strong-willed women.

The sub-titles are sub-par; it's awkward, for example, to translate "Shalom" as peace be with you as it's really more just colloquial hello.

(originally written 5/24/2002)