Leona

.... the cast the Directing and the Editing.



Perfection of a Film

An impressive, timely directorial debut, Isaac Cherem's modern romance channels this generation's emotional conflicts as they seek acceptance and meaning among family and society. Set in now-a-days Mexico City, the film paints a relevant portrait of a Jewish community preserving their values and traditions. When Ariela (seductively played by Naian González Norvind) starts a love affair with a non-Jewish man, she becomes the center of an interior conflict that could lead them apart, dividing the family. Cherem deeply observes both sides of the conflict and their reasons, with focus on Ariela's search for sexual and professional identity. Vibrant, stylish and precise, it's an accomplished look at family traditions, a young woman's quest for freedom and the uncontrollable force of desire.

My wife and I both thought performances were so real that we were not watching actors. The story of this young artist moves along at a pace that you sometimes just don't want to stop. The colours vibrant to plain matched to the scenes involved. It was not magic but clever writing that Ivan's father's final play for the season was to be "Romeo and Juliet" . We just loved this movie.

There's no better word to describe this film than that: katabasis. Young jewish girl falls for a non jewish guy, in a sort of rebellious manner, as her closest friend got married and every eyes are on her, for they expect that she'll be the next one. Problems arise when her family learns that she's dating a "goy". But the story is much more than that. It's about a woman becoming her own. Making her own mistakes, by making her own decisions, painting her own image in a truly white canvas. Jewish culture is no that known in my country (Mexico), so it is nice to watch a film that depicts traditions that intimately.

The best thing about this movie is its realism. Usually a director goes with a good guys/bad guys dichotomy so we have someone to root for. But this movie has little of that, except maybe a couple of bad dates. The lead isn't particularly likeable; she's often self-centered and somewhat spoiled, and lacks courage. But she's still appealing,and the dilemmas she faces are real. The middle-class Jewish family members are neither admirable nor hideous. And the plot, while not original, doesn't take the usual turns. So it's satisfying that way and makes for an unusual viewing experience, if not a terribly enjoyable one.