7 Days (2008) Shiva (original title)

Directors:

Ronit Elkabetz
Shlomi Elkabetz

Writers:

Ronit Elkabetz (screenplay)
Shlomi Elkabetz (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 July 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

One of the brothers of the family Ohaion dies. It is a large family.

Plot:

When one of the brothers (Ohayn) dies, all the whole family comes for Shiva (Jewish tradition,when the...

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Death | Shiva | Bereavement | Jewish Family

Awards:

4 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Ronit Elkabetz	...	Vivianne
Albert Iluz	...	Meir Ohayon
Yaël Abecassis	...	Lili Ohayon
Simon Abkarian	...	Eliyahu
Hana Laszlo	...	Ita Ohayon
Moshe Ivgy	...	Haim Ohayon
Keren Mor	...	Ilana Ohayon
Alon Aboutboul	...	Itamar Ohayon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rafi Amzaleg	...	Jacques Ohayon
Hana Azoulay-Hasfari	...	Simona Ohayon
Rabigal Biton
Orit Cher	...	Ruthi Ohayon
Benjamin David		(as Ben David)
Yechiel Elkabetz	...	Charlie Ohayon
Dikla Elkaslassi	...	Iris
Gil Frank	...	Ben Loulou
Mali Gad Or
Daniel Gad
Itay Gonen
Sidi Hadad
Evelin Hagoel	...	Evelyne
Yehuda Hagri
Sulika Kadosh	...	Hanina Ohayon
Ilan Kenan
David Ohayon	...	David Ohayon
Janet Sabag
Ruby Porat Shoval	...	Therese Ohayon

Directed by
Ronit Elkabetz
Shlomi Elkabetz

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ronit Elkabetz		screenplay
Shlomi Elkabetz		screenplay

Produced by
Guy Jacoel	....	producer
Yochanan Kredo	....	producer
Elie Meirovitz	....	producer
Eylon Ratzkovsky	....	producer
Jean-Philippe Reza	....	producer
Yossi Uzrad	....	producer

Original Music by
Michel Korb
Sergio Leonardi

Cinematography by
Yaron Scharf

Film Editing by
Joel Alexis

Art Direction by
Benny Arbitman

Sound Department
Aviv Aldema	....	sound designer
Hervé Buirette	....	sound re-recording mixer
Neal Gibbs	....	foley editor
Pierre-Jean Labrusse	....	sound mix technician
Alon Shapira	....	boom operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Shuki Paz	....	gaffer

Production Companies

• Thaleia Productions (producer)
• EZ Films
• July August Productions

Distributors

• Les Films du Losange (2008) (France) (all media)

Other Companies

• Les Audis de Vanves  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

"Shiva" - Israel (original title)
"The Seven Days" - USA (festival title)

Runtime:

103 min | France:108 min

Country:

Israel | France

Language:

French | Arabic | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Savion, Israel

Company:

Thaleia Productions

Movie Connections:

Featured in Sharon Amrani: Remember His Name (2010)

Intense character study of collective mourning

All families are different and maybe that's the hardest thing to keep in mind when watching tension mount and drama unfold in Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz's "Shiva." We mourn and handle loss both personally and collectively in different ways and even if we think we wouldn't ever let underlying issues between family members come out in the wake of tragedy like the Ohayon family, most of us are probably not Moroccan-Israeli Jews with nine siblings.

"Shiva" premiered at Cannes in 2008 and has yet to be distributed in the United States, but I was fortunate to see it at the 2009 Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema. Considered a who's who of Israeli acting, the film was wildly acclaimed in Israel and although it loses some of that impact on an international level, the acting is still the film's strongest aspect.

The story and structure of the film struck me as best suited for the stage. "Shiva" is a film about a sudden death in a large Moroccan Jewish family and the period of mourning directly following it, called Shiva (translated in Hebrew to "seven days" more or less). During Shiva, the family grieves in one house together for seven days to comfort each other. It's basically forced family time together, which for the Ohayon family, means tensions that otherwise might have stayed aside push to the forefront.

With nine siblings and their subsequent spouses, it's very hard to keep track of all the characters and their personal issues in this film -- just another reason why it felt like it should have been done as a play. The important points worthy of note are that several of the brothers work for one of the brothers at a factory. The departed, Maurice, also left a couple of shops behind. Then there are some love affair subplots and generally sibling discontent. All this in the context of the Gulf War too. Sirens go off and the family members must put on their gas masks. Presumably all these tensions are what push the siblings away from mourning and onto their own personal issues.

Therein is the trouble of the film. As interesting as it is to break down the psychology of these characters and their family, the truth of the matter is it's hard to believe they would be so inconsiderate and selfish during a time of tragedy for all of them. Instead of it being about cherishing Maurice's memory, they unearth deep-seated resentments and start immediately on the logistics of the future. The Elkabetzs are very cognizant of this, I think, but the disconnect is a troubling one because of how powerful death and mourning are. It's an interesting idea to show how sitting Shiva/forced communal mourning can lead to arguably unavoidable familial conflicts, but anyone who has experienced Shiva will have a hard time with these temperamental characters.

The fine actors carry out this drama effectively, however. Despite simple camera-work and what must've been a very minimal number of takes, they command their screen time when they get it. Overall, this is an affecting film. It might not resonate or provide a Hollywood catharsis, but as a character study it really captures your attention. Death is part of all cultures and when it comes down to it, no matter how you personally feel about how mourning should be handled, this is just one of many intriguing cultural perspectives. ~Steven C Visit my site at http://moviemusereviews.blogspot.com