Late Marriage (2001) Hatuna Meuheret (original title)

Director:

Dover Koshashvili

Writer:

Dover Koshashvili

Release Date:

24 October 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes, love doesn't conquer all.

Plot:

Zaza is a 31-year old Israeli bachelor, handsome and intelligent, and his family wants to see him married...

Plot Keywords:

Georgian | 31 Year Old | Bachelor | Jewish | Intimidation

Awards:

17 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Lior Ashkenazi	...	Zaza (as Lior Louie Ashkenazi)
Ronit Elkabetz	...	Judith
Moni Moshonov	...	Yasha
Lili Koshashvili	...	Lili
Aya Steinovitz	...	Ilana
Rosina Kambus	...	Magouly (as Rozina Cambus)
Simon Chen	...	Simon
Sapir Kugman	...	Madona
Dina Doron	...	Luba
Leonid Kanevsky	...	Otary
Libia Hakmon	...	Margalita (as Libia Hakmon-Ayali)
Eli Turi	...	Bessik
Maria Ovanov	...	Lali
Orit Buchnik Sher
Rivka Gur
Ana Feinstein
Zuri Botrashvilli
Nana Dvir
Bachur Gene
Michael Moshonov
Rotem Zoler
Liza Turikashvilli
Nethanel Bitan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reuven Dayan

Directed by
Dover Koshashvili

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dover Koshashvili

Produced by
Marek Rozenbaum	....	producer
Edgard Tenenbaum	....	producer
Udi Yerushalmy	....	executive producer
Udi Yerushalmy	....	line producer

Original Music by
Iosif Bardanashvili		(as Joseph Bardanashvili)

Cinematography by
Daniel Schneor		(as Dani Schneor)

Film Editing by
Yael Perlov

Production Design by
Avi Fahima

Set Decoration by
Evelyn Terdiman

Costume Design by
Maya Barsky

Makeup Department
Meirav Bouchoucha	....	makeup supervisor
Gadi Omer	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Patrick Dumont	....	production manager
Uzi Karin	....	unit manager
Eyal Sadan	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yochanan Kredo	....	assistant director
Alona Lichter	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Alex Claude	....	supervising sound editor
Oleg Kaiserman	....	sound
Jonathan Liebling	....	sound effects editor
Misha Spektor	....	boom operator
Nathalie Vidal	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Ehab Assal	....	assistant camera
Ari Haas	....	electrician
Ari Haas	....	grip
Udi Rimer	....	gaffer

Editorial Department
Doron Suliman	....	negative cut verifier

Music Department
Daniel Alcheh	....	music score mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Sascha Franklin	....	preparation: Film Lab
Sophie Onteniente	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Israeli Film Fund
• Keshet Broadcasting
• Morgane Productions
• The Fund for the Promotion of Israeli Film
• Transfax Film Productions
• arte France Cinéma

Distributors

• Cinemien (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Diaphana Films (France)
• Homescreen (2003) (Netherlands) (video)
• Istituto Luce
• Magnolia Pictures (2002) (USA) (subtitled)
• Primer Plano Film Group (Argentina)

Also Known As:

"Hatuna Meuheret" - Israel (original title)

Runtime:

102 min | Canada:98 min (DVD)

Country:

Israel | France

Language:

Georgian | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Brazil:18 | France:U | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:AL | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:R | Australia:MA (cable rating)

Company:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Quotes:

Magouly:Dear God, how could you create so many fools?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blind Date (2003)

Interesting, but flawed

This film opened last night in Los Angeles, and seemed to draw a pretty good crowd -- I assume they'd all heard the same positive buzz I'd heard...

Interesting look at a very old fashioned culture (Georgians who emigrated to Israel), and the demands they make on a grown son. From an American perspective, the parents' objections to the son's choice in girlfriend (or potential wife) seem trivial: she's slightly older, and divorced.

But here are my issues with the film: The character Zaza is a very weak-willed man who bends too easily to his parents' demands. Now, it's interesting to see someone who's not a traditional Hollywood "strong" hero -- but it was hard to be sympathetic with this guy, since he didn't really seem to disagree with his parents. There's a pretty long sex scene(which has been justifiably lauded as much more realistic than anything you'll see in a Hollywood film), but later in the film, he treats his girlfriend pretty badly. There's a pivotal scene in which he sides with his parents vs. the girlfriend, and I just lost all respect for the character at that point.

Also, the movie drags on a bit...Could have benefited from quite a bit of editing. Couple other criticisms: Characters are introduced, but it's not clear who they are, or how they are related (maybe it loses something in the subtitles). More importantly, I read a review in a newspaper here that said a key plot point was the different ethnic backgrounds of Zaza and his girlfriend: But that did not come across at all! Maybe in Israel that is a big deal, and if so, that should have been made clear to American audiences, as well. Again, I suspect something got left out in the subtitle translations...

Still, it's interesting to see an Israeli film, and maybe this director will have something better up his sleeve next time...