gberke

An old lady falls in love with an old man, not her husband. She and the old man have wonderful sex, and she finds herself compelled to continue against her wishes "I didn't want this" she will say again and again. It is a bit alarming, this portrayal of a mature woman in a good relationship, with a daughter, grandchildren, a good an settled life when she finds herself acting methodically but out of control... she is filled with desire for this new man's company, and out of a sense of honesty she is compelled to tell her husband and indeed, leave him. "I didn't want this" she will say... This is not a young thing, inexperienced, taken away by some mad youthful forbidden fling, This is an adult, a mature and capable woman who is nonetheless taken up as if she were just that young thing, bereft of responsibility, consumed and driven to pursue that new love, wonderfully fresh. How can this not destroy her family? "I didn't want this." It is a little bit frightening, that for all she has, her emotions can pull her away and out of her family, surely able to know the damage that must be done but unable to experience that created pain against the overwhelming passion she has incautiously stumbled into. A lovely, revealing, cautionary tale. The audience itself seems similarly drawn in, enjoying the romance but unwilling to accept what would clearly be an expected outcome: pain.

I loved reading the other reviewers... about the uncertainties, seeing gods hand sometimes, sometimes not... But the Jewish kids, the disrespect, the self absorption, the "don't make waves" path through life, the fear, running, the cloistered views of life, the otherness, lack of a stand for any notion of right or wrong... this was strange, personal, and I have to wonder: is this just the Jews? Turns out not: my friend from Kansas finds much in the film from her own youth... in a land where seldom is heard a discouraging word and even less often see was the Jew... Still, I find it hard to believe that this could be anything but a Jewish story. And I'll bet the Coens could do an Italian version, maybe an Asian version. I'd love to see those!