Kadosh
|
List Price: Our Price: $16.14 You Save: $13.81 (46%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.30 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Kadosh
Movie Review: A mixed message...
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm not sure how to characterize this odd film. Technically it's very well-done in many respects, but the ending is surreal and for me, lacked any association with reality. I like the camera work-- narrow passages leading to dead ends, bare concrete walls, crumbling mortar, all leading to the sense of hopelessness and fatalism. But if you think this is some kind of revealing look at Hasidism, you're in for a disappointment. It's more like a Frederico Fellini film on the Jerusalem Taliban. Just add some turbans, and some long caftans and a blue burqa and you may as well be in northern Afghanistan.
If you like watching foreign films for the artistry of film-making, you should watch this, and if you are a student of the cinema. As a morality tale, the film is subtle and accomplished. It has layers of meaning that prompt as many hair-splitting questions as a debate on Talmud.
I rented it to watch online and was very pleased with my experience, the first time I have ever done that with a film from Amazon, and so now I'm hooked. This kind of film rental is really great-- however, it takes awhile to figure out how to get a full screen, so maybe Amazon should include some user-friendly instructions when someone pays to watch online.
Movie Review: For all the criticisms...
Summary: 3 Stars
Firstly, I would like to address those criticizing the film for inaccuracies. Many of these people have cited their experience in the Orthodox community. If this is the case then these people should know better than anyone else, that Orthodox Judaism is a very broad term. Your experience may not be remotely like the experience of someone from the Haredi sect. Also, if you were remotely close to being as conservative as the Charedi you wouldn't be writing a review on Amazon.
Having said that, this is not a documentary. I'm sure some of it is sensationalized but, I'm not convinced that parts of it aren't true. Men like Meir, Meir's Rabbi father and Yossef exist in all facets of life. Ultra-conservative religious practices have a history of binding women and turning them in baby-makers. Those quotes from the torah weren't made up. The movie itself is interesting but, I personally failed to understand Meir and Rivka. I definitely did not understand what happened to Rivka at the very end. That turn of events ruined it the whole movie for me. The only identifable character to me was Malka. I gave the movie three stars because it was thought provoking.
Movie Review: Good insights at a snail's pace...
Summary: 3 Stars
You know you're in for a slow-paced movie when director Amos Gitai trains his camera in the first scene on lead character Meir and we spend no less than 10 minutes watching him get dressed in the morning.But still, this movie is worth seeing, especially for the penetrating look at Ultra-Orthodox Judiasm. We get a peek inside the deteriorating relationship of two couples (well, in one case, the couple never really 'teriorated' in the first place), anchored by a pair of sisters.
I'm sure we're seeing extreme cases, but if Gitai is trying to make a point of unmasking the inherent male chauvinism of this corner of the faith, then he's accomplished it successfully. The sisters - obviously bright, thoughtful individuals - are treated merely as baby-carrying vessels here. Though Meir sees through the unfairness of this all, even he is powerless to stop his elders' dictates.
Movie Review: heart breaker
Summary: 3 Stars
I just saw this movie tonight. All I can tell you is it was a heart breaker. Rivka and Meir had a loving marriage until the Rabbi ruined it. Malka was doomed from the start. Her husband was a disgusting, frightening, sick man. The wedding night scene was a nightmare for Malka. This man was an animal. Absolutely an uncaring lover. He never heard of the word foreplay? Guess not. He was extremely rough on their first time lovemaking. (she was a virgin) It turned my stomach. The ending will definitely call for tissues. This movie was not rated... but deserves an R. Not for teens, or children.Movie Review: Grossly Inaccurate- Painful to Sit Through
Summary: 2 Stars
I watched this film at the recommendation of a friend. As someone who is a part of the orthodox (or ultra-orthodox as some call it) world, I was shocked at many exagerrated negative stereotypes of orthodox Jews that were main lines in the story. I am not saying there are no troubled marriages, or narrow-minded, ignorant people in the orthodox Jewish world. Unfortunately there are, and one such family is one too many. But dysfunctional people exist everywhere. The problem with Mr. Gitai's film is that by depicting these people against an "Orthodox Jewish" backdrop he implies that the characters are dysfunctional BECAUSE of their religion, not in spite of it.
The story focuses on a woman, married for 10 years and childless, who is divorced by her scholar husband (at the behest of his Rabbi) in order to marry a woman who can produce children. The story proceeds from there. Another character includes the woman's sister who is forced into a loveless marriage with a crazy man.
The inaccuracies/misrepresentations are numerous. To name a few:
Normal Orthodox Rabbis do not encourage men with "barren" wives to divorce their wives. Rabbis do not place their hands on the heads of non-related women as is shown in one scene. Orthodox women routinely visit gynecologists and obstetricians. Many VERY orthodox women undergo fertility treatments. Women are not forced to marry abusive men, or any men, against their wishes.
Some may counter that the movie does not necessarily imply that all Orthodox Jews are like this, and I see that point. I also understand that "conflict" is what makes for a successful story. After all, no one wants to see a movie about happy people with happy lives. But at the same time, all too often, movies made about Orthodox Jews are made by people with little actual knowledge of their lifestyles. It's easy to dress up a guy in a yarmulke, show him praying and say there's an Orthodox jew. Other than the Chosen, and a Stranger Among Us, I have yet to see an accurate depiction of Orthodox Judaism in film.
As for the other aspects of the film, I have no comment.
If you do choose to see this film, I urge you to take it as "entertainment" not fact.