Leona

An impressive, timely directorial debut, Isaac Cherem's modern romance channels this generation's emotional conflicts as they seek acceptance and meaning among family and society. Set in now-a-days Mexico City, the film paints a relevant portrait of a Jewish community preserving their values and traditions. When Ariela (seductively played by Naian González Norvind) starts a love affair with a non-Jewish man, she becomes the center of an interior conflict that could lead them apart, dividing the family. Cherem deeply observes both sides of the conflict and their reasons, with focus on Ariela's search for sexual and professional identity. Vibrant, stylish and precise, it's an accomplished look at family traditions, a young woman's quest for freedom and the uncontrollable force of desire.

There's no better word to describe this film than that: katabasis. Young jewish girl falls for a non jewish guy, in a sort of rebellious manner, as her closest friend got married and every eyes are on her, for they expect that she'll be the next one. Problems arise when her family learns that she's dating a "goy". But the story is much more than that. It's about a woman becoming her own. Making her own mistakes, by making her own decisions, painting her own image in a truly white canvas. Jewish culture is no that known in my country (Mexico), so it is nice to watch a film that depicts traditions that intimately.

Brilliant debut. Moving, thought-provoking... at once familiar and exotic. Great music too

.... the cast the Directing and the Editing.



Perfection of a Film

Leona (2018) was co-written and directed by Isaac Cherem. It was also co-written by the star, Naian González Norvind, who portrays Ariela. (Why the movie is titled Leona is revealed at the end.)

Ariela is from a close-knit Jewish family that exists within a close-knit Syrian Jewish culture in Mexico City. (There are less than 16,000 Syrian Jews in Mexico City, so everyone really does know everyone else.)

The basic plot--clear from the beginning--is that Ariela falls in love with a Christian. As would be expected, this is a source of distress for her family and her community.

How the movie plays out from that beginning is unpredictable and interesting. What makes the film worth seeing is Norvind's great acting and the fact that Ariela is not a perfect person trapped in a cultural vise. Unlike many women portrayed in movies like this, she has definite weaknesses as well as strengths.

Leona has a decent IMDb rating of 7.2. I thought it was better than that, and rated it 9.

P.S. Notice that the opening scene and the closing scene both are of a woman taking a bath. Very clever touch by writer-director Cherem.