Sh'Chur (1994)

A Westernized teenager struggles to come to terms with the white magic practiced by members of her family.

Director:

Shmuel Hasfari

Writer:

Hana Azoulay-Hasfari

Stars:

Gila Almagor, Ronit Elkabetz, Eti Adar

7 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Gila Almagor	...	Mother
Ronit Elkabetz	...	Pnina
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eti Adar
Hana Azoulay-Hasfari	...	Rachel
Orly Ben-Garti	...	Young Rachel
Yaacov Cohen	...	Shlomo
Albert Iluz	...	Moshe
Amos Lavi	...	Father
Esti Yerushalmi
Emuna Zvi

Storyline

This movie portrays the colourful and passionate culture of the Moroccan community in Israel. It tells the story of 13-year-old Rachel, a thoroughly Westernized Sabra teenager who struggles to make sense of and come to terms with the white magic (Sh'Chur) practiced regularly by members of her family. This mystical world of spirits and demons takes on a physical presence in the shape of her elder sister Pnina, whose supernatural powers fill Rachel with fear.

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Plot Keywords:

family relationships | mysticism | mental retardation

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew

Release Date:

1994 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Sh'hur

Filming Locations:

Givat Olga, Hadera, Israel

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mecklberg Media Group, Movies Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in A History of Israeli Cinema (2009)

User Reviews

This gentle family portrait comes from Israel.

Sh'Chur means magic.It is a kind of magic which is found in our daily lives.This is one of the best family portraits ever done in cinema.It is so nicely done that one can feel the tensions,troubles and problems faced by an Israelian family as depicted on the big screen.It is for this film that Hana Azoulay Hasfari wrote the script for her husband Shmuel Hasfari.It is autobiographical in nature but some minor changes have been made in the script in order to achieve an authentic experience of an Israeli family caught between two worlds.He shows us a family which is trapped in ancient traditions.The film acquires special significance as it is a brave tale of how difficult it is for some family members to stick to their family despite their mind asking them to leave everything behind as a family means responsibilities. Israeli director Shmuel Hasfari has effectively used acting talents of a great actress like Gila Almagor to show how different family members accomplish individual tasks in order to keep a family structure intact.