Lemale et ha'halal (2012)

A devout 18-year-old Israeli is pressured to marry the husband of her late sister. Declaring her independence is not an option in Tel Aviv's ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, where ... See full summary »

Director:

Rama Burshtein

Writer:

Rama Burshtein

Stars:

Hadas Yaron, Yiftach Klein, Irit Sheleg

12 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Hadas Yaron	...	Shira
Yiftach Klein	...	Yochay
Irit Sheleg	...	Rivka
Chayim Sharir	...	Aharon
Razia Israeli	...	Aunt Hanna
Hila Feldman	...	Frieda
Renana Raz	...	Esther
Yael Tal	...	Shifi
Ido Samuel	...	Yossi
Neta Moran	...	Bilha

Storyline

A devout 18-year-old Israeli is pressured to marry the husband of her late sister. Declaring her independence is not an option in Tel Aviv's ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, where religious law, tradition and the rabbi's word are absolute.

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Plot Keywords:

levirate

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief smoking

Details

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew

Release Date:

18 October 2012 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Fill the Void

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avi Chai fund, Israel Film Fund, Norma Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The official submission of Israel to the Best Foreign Language Film for the 85th Academy Awards 2013.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2012 (2012)

User Reviews

Slow pace, great visuals

In this movie an eighteen-year-old girl, living in an Orthodox Jewish environment, has to make a fateful decision while surrounded with uncertainty-- not only about the consequences of her decision but also about the limits, both outside herself and within herself, on her freedom of action. The movie focuses prominently on her not only figuratively but literally. Her pale, round, expressive face fills the foreground again and again, against the background of brownish interiors and black-clothed men, and it's not a face the viewer gets tired of, nor does it turn her predictable. There are surprises in her behavior, and the audience accepts them. Not so with her male counterpart; when his emotional scene came, I'm sorry to report there were people in the audience who laughed. The movie hadn't made the necessary prior investment in sympathy for him. But to the extent that it belongs to Hadas Yaron as an actress and a photographic subject, it's well worth watching-- and it knows it is; it gives the audience plenty of time to appreciate each shot.