Kadosh (1999)

the audience applauded

An Exercise In Nonsense

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

It is obvious that those who dislike this film are quick to say it is an inaccurate portrayal of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism. This is somewhat like the way that many Moslems are quick to defend Islam at its worst. Apparently too many Jews (and non-Jews worried about being called anti-semitic?) feel that criticism of this most fundamentalist form of Judalism is a terrible thing. It's a good thing and the more criticism there is the better it is. There are other forms of Judaism. There are also many Jews who are not fans of religion (as in my case). There are too many films by Jews and non-Jews that tend to equate being Jewish with being Orthodox and Ultra-orthodox. This includes the obnoxious use of Hassids at the beginning of the credits for "Schindler's List". Then there is the silliness of "A Stranger Among Us". "A Price Above Rubies" was an improvement. "Kadosh" represents the next step. Well done technically. Beautifully acted. It's harrowing but certainly not boring. (This review is by June of joejune.)

Some have called this movie anti-religious, other argue that it shows Israel is a real democracy, financing movies which criticize all the aspects of its society, probably in a more abstruse way than European cinema today. More than the controversies and even the story, I remember the actors' talent. Especially Meital Berdah. In the movie, she plays the role of Yaël Abecassis' sister. I would think that in real life, she's Jennifer Connelly's sister. She has the same worrying strength on screen, the same charisma. When Connelly leaves her nightmares in Requeim For A Dream, we're both afraid and attracted by her eyes. The feeling is shared when Berdah leaves her neighborhood for a better life, trying to let a bitter marital experience slide, washed down the drinks of lowlifes who hang around the bar where her lover works.

This is a superb movie -- reminiscent of A Pearl Among Rubies in its depiction of a woman's plight in the Orthodox Jewish community. It may, however, be a more difficult film than a Pearl Among Rubies for a non-Jew to understand or credit. Kadosh focuses on the situation of two sisters in a religious culture that expects women to produce children and to devote all their energies to raising them and to caring for their husbands while the husbands spend full time studying Torah and Talmud. One of the sisters has been married for 10 years but has never conceived and is therefore considered a failure in her primary responsibility as a wife (though it's quite possible that the husband is the one who is sterile) Her younger sister is betrothed and soon married to a man she does not love and who is mainly interested in impregnating her, not in making love to her. I won't spoil the plot by spelling out what happens to them. I'm sure this will seem unbelievable to those who have never encountered the Ultra Orthodox communities [stress the plural; they are not identical] in Israel. Could this story happen? Among the more intransigent sects? I'm inclined to think so. Although the problem for the woman in A Pearl Among Rubies (Renee Zellweger -- the first time I ever saw her), the story is easier to comprehend, both because it is in English and because it is far more external and filled with incident than Kadosh. It is also more sensational and somewhat less believable. What makes Kadosh so effective is the silences, which often endure for minutes, leaving the viewer to imagine the thoughts of the characters on screen. The most serious defect of the film for those who don't speak Hebrew is the difficulty, especially on a small screen, of reading the subtitles (often set against a light background). That prevents it from being a 10. I give it a 9.

"Kadosh" is a protracted telling of a meager story about two women (sisters) living in an Hasidic Jewish enclave in Israel under appalling religious tyranny. Little happens in the film which tends to tell its tale visually with minimal dialogue. Whether or not the film is representative of Hasidism is irrelevant. It's just a MOVIE! Ultra-orthodox anythings are usually a screwed up lot and fortunately not representative of the cultural whole. Overall, Kadosh is not luminous and not even very interesting though it is sensitive and provocative. Fast forward through everything but the subtitles and you'll get a good sense of what the film is about in about 30 minutes. Or, better yet, go find yourself a better film to watch. (C)Note - The VHS I watched had white subtitles with no outline making them extremely difficult to read.