Ushpizin

It's quite hard for me to speak about this film without referring to the context of the delicate balance of relations between religious and non-religious people in Israel. This film is made mostly by religious people, and the whole story is told from the perspective of the deep believers. Jewish religious Jerusalem looks beautiful in this film, and it's no better moment to put it on screen than the festival of Succot. Still, the world and life of the religious people in Israel is much more complicated, and the problems they face are quite different, but this is not what this story is about.

What this is indeed about is about what does influence our lives. The main characters are a born-again Jew and his wife, living at the brink of their resources a life of devotion and religious studies. Many things happen to them in the few days before and during the holiday, and these can be explained as miracles dictated by God, or by circumstances of hazard. Of course, the characters are true believers, they speak to God, and know that God rewards them or punishes them for their deeds, but is not this the result of their imagination derived from their deep belief? The director makes for most of the film no comment and lets the viewers decide by themselves. Only by the end, in the last minutes he decides to become explicit, and this is a mistake in my opinion. The kind of Hollywood style ending adopted by this film is sometimes called 'Deus ex machina' and never was the name more appropriate.

Acting is wonderful, both of the religious people looking like characters descending directly from Bashevis Singer's books, as well as the non-religious ones, although their characters are closer to stereotypes. The film was originally made for TV, I believe, with a small budget, it still is true and sincere and funny in many moments. I am looking forward to see how it will be received by the North American audiences.

Positive depictions of haredi (so-called-ultra-Orthodox) lifestyle in film, whether American or Israeli, are not common. "Ushpizin" is a delightful little tale, almost a fable, with quite a bit of hidden depth.

Newly religious Moshe and Mali (real-life couple Shuli and Michal Bat-Sheva Rand) desperately need a miracle to get through the holiday of Sukkot. Without any support from Moshe's yeshiva, they are about to be overwhelmed by back rent and other debts. Strict believers in the Breslov tradition, they pray for a miracle, even as it unfolds (a brilliant 3-way inter-cut sequence that is the highlight of the film). Their joy is short-lived, however, when Elihayu and Yosef, unexpected guests from Moshe's pre-Haredi life, join them for the holiday.

The film is surprisingly honest -- Moshe and Mali are placed in the uncomfortable position of practicing genuine hospitality and tolerance to those who attitudes and actions place them diametrically opposed to everything the haredi couple stand for. Indeed, when Eliyahu and Yosef blast their music in the middle of the haredi neighborhood, a lynch mob nearly forms, the isolationist side of Haredi life raising its ugly head to keep its own courtyards clean of the outside world. There is a certain sense in the movie that Breslov chasidim distinguish themselves from the other sects in truly practicing love and outreach, coupled with unshakable belief.

Shuli Rand's portrayal of Moshe, which is probably more than a bit autobiographical, is dead-on: conflicted and uncomfortably reminded of a world he left far behind. The film makes a strong case for Divine Providence in every aspect of every individual's life, and for living up to the challenges and tests that G-d places before you.

For someone unfamiliar with the culture, Ushpizin may be like visiting another planet full of strange people, unfamiliar rules, and absolutely opposite priorities. It quickly becomes a human fable with which all of us can connect deeply, however: the blessings and curses that come with wishes that are granted, the confusion of figuring out how the big picture will play out in our smallest choices, the warmth and pressure of belonging to a wider community of similarly confused and agitated people.

Some of the characters border on lovable stereotypes, and the picture painted is of a world in which good is absolutely guaranteed to conquer evil, but it is nonetheless believable and suspenseful. You really should see it.

Ushpizin is about a "chozer b'tshuva" (recently religious) Jerusalem couple whose faith is tested repeatedly during the Succot holiday. Will their faith hold as the tests get harder and harder? Will G-d send them the miracles they need? Familiar references spring to mind, from the biblical story of Avraham and Sarah, to traditional tales of shtetl life, to the stories of S.Y. Agnon. Yet the contemporary context makes it a highly original work. The film manages to retain and build dramatic tension. It successfully portrays strong emotions including anger, frustration, love, gratitude, and faith without becoming overly sentimental.

The main couple is played by actors who are married in real life and also religious in real life (he wrote the script). Their love, clearly visible, is one of the nicest parts of the story.

The criminals who come to stay as guests during the holiday ("Ushpizin" in Hebrew) are a bit too cartooned at times, but are not all bad.

It's nice to see a Jerusalem that really exists: a place of material poverty but spiritual wealth, home to an imperfect but caring community that finds meaning in the fulfillment of mitzvahs (commandments).

This was a delightful movie in so many ways.

First, I really enjoyed the overall depiction of what was for me a very different cultural setting ... both regarding the religious context (Ultra-Orthodox Judaism) and the geocultural context (contemporary Israel, especially contemporary Jerusalem). I certainly can't comment on authenticity; but the overall flavor was convincing and the often exotic (to me) happenings, sayings, behaviors, etc were to me very appealing.

Second, the characters of Moshe and Malli were simply wonderful and wonderfully appealing. Their relationship was vivid; and the window into how an Orthodox marriage relationship "works" in the context of a strong Faith commitment by both of the couple was such a bracing experience for me.

Third, the general plot-theme ... two escaped convicts showing up and both challenging and straining Hospitality ... is very appealing to me. The characters of the convicts ... Scorpio and Yossef ... were much less appealing but certainly (uh) interesting.

Still the odd relationship between Moshe and Scorpio; and between Moshe and his wife and Scorpio and Yossef ... somehow lacked something that for me I could really find very convincing. The behavior of Scorpio and Yossef toward both their hosts, and to the general religious community on the street in which they were staying, was so attention-provoking that I had to ask myself what kind of escaped convicts want that kind of attention.

Yet all in all I really enjoyed this movie. And if you, like me, find this a pleasing but somewhat mystifying *cultural* challenge, hey, read some of the other comments on IMDb, there are some wonderful comments from Israel in particular that have shed much light for me.