Avanim

Many Euro films, especially, and others, like Avanim, have no idea what it takes to make a good movie--a good STORY. The absolutely MUST be a plot, which is something other than tracing a characters moods. This movie is tedious, belabored, self-indulgent. It takes way too long for the dramatic shift to occur and the main character, whose life, feeding her child, for example, is studiously documented, listlessly drifts from scene to scene without the viewer having an emotional latch to grab. The script is really nothing but an agenda, and tho the movie has pretty good "documentary" style acting, but it ain't enuf: first things first: STORY.

Avanim is an important film that explores the struggle of one woman trying to focus on her own life while surrounded by the agendas of those around her.

Asi Levy, in her European Film Award-nominated role, delivers one of the best performances of the year. Avanim is a finely nuanced film that tries to question a complex world through genuine truth and understanding. Brilliantly paced and with minute attention to detail, this film reaffirms Raphael Nadjari's place among the new great filmmakers who have so much to offer the language of cinema.

Do not miss this film, though it may be hard to find in your area, this is a revelation of the human condition.

Avanim is a powerful movie. At first glance it's about a married Israeli woman (Michale) living in a Yemeni religious environment who has a furtive affair with a man and is at odds with her father-and-boss and his unlawful activities that favor the financial interests of this religious community. Her lover dies in a suicide attack (we happen to know furtively too), but tears, grief and mourning is impossible. Nonetheless she'll manage to make something of that impossibility and the brewing family crisis: leave her husband eat the shabbat jachnun on his own, take her son, and change her life (we can imagine). At second glance it's the universal tragedy of a woman who tries to liberate from male coercion and a stringent religious community that has difficulties playing by the laws governing a democratic country. Also it's an optimistic story as it shows a multi-layered suffering fueling, not depression, but a dramatic change in destiny. The tempo and sound-track make us quasi insiders of all characters: prolonged shots of religious rituals and cooking alternate with brisk and allusive scenes.

A profound, subtle movie, Avanim (Stones in Hebrew) follows the coming of age of an Israeli woman today. Locked into a bland marriage, a stifling relationship with her father and a relentless daily routine - as much as she is locked into herself - she makes a U-turn when faced with death and corruption. A loving, intelligent and uncompromising account, which doesn't let you generalize or over simplify on anything, be it Israel, religion, tradition, Sephardi Jews or modern women. The heroin's stubborn silence and hurried pace in the city, the kindergarten teacher's womanly empathy, the old rabbi's gentleness and humbleness all make for unforgettable characters. Stunning performances at all level inlaid with haunting sober cello music, Nadjari's stone is a dark gem!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, hot rocks just like the Stones album... Avanim (stones) infiltrates every pore of your body as you start to understand the life of women in Israel. The characters (especially the mysteriously feisty Assi Levy) unravel, the stones heat up, and you can just soak it all up. This is a slow movie which is NOT commercial mish mash - you have to work at it, and you will certainly feel uneasy during a major part of the film, but boy is it worth it...

PS The israelo-palestinian conflict is not ignored in the film, and is brilliantly portrayed (and no I am not Muslim nor Jewish).

My oh my, more from director Nadjari please !!