Kadosh ( he, קדוש) (''lit.'', Sacred) is a 1999 film by Israeli director

Amos Gitai Amos Gitai ( he, עמוס גיתאי; born 11 October 1950) is an Israeli filmmaker, who was trained as an architect. Gitai's work was presented in several major retrospectives in Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and ...

. It was entered into the

1999 Cannes Film Festival The 52nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker, actor and author David Cronenberg was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the French– Belgian film ''Rosetta'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The festi ...

Plot

''Kadosh'' is a bleak drama about the

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

society. In the opening scene, Meir (Yoram Hattab), a young

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ic scholar, thanks God in his morning prayers for not being born a woman. At first, the marriage of Meir and his wife, Rivka ( Yael Abecassis), appears tender and idyllic, but as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that Meir is concerned with the fact that he is childless after ten years of marriage. Meir's father, the Rabbi of their community in Jerusalem, tells Meir he is required to divorce Rivka because a woman's only function is to have children. Eventually, Meir complies, which destroys Rivka emotionally, and she moves away so that Meir can marry a cousin. Rivka's younger sister, Malka, marries Yosef in a match arranged by her parents, even though she loves Yaakov, a rock singer, who has abandoned the religious community. When Yosef is sexually cold to her, she leaves for a night with Yaakov; when she returns, Yosef calls her a "slut" and beats her with a belt. She runs out of their apartment. Meir, having divorced Rivka and re-married, shows up at Rivka's apartment on the

Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...

holiday (when men traditionally get drunk), and wants to be with her (a Haredi man would normally never be alone with a woman who is not his wife). She retreats initially. We do not see what happens, but when Malka runs to Rivka's apartment after Yosef beats her, Rivka babbles about being pregnant. In a scene which could be a dream or allegory, Rivka comes to Meir, who is sleeping, lies down with him, and drapes herself all over him, but he does not wake up (nor is his new wife present, suggesting this is not actually the storyline). Eventually, she falls asleep on top of him. He wakes up, and cannot rouse her. He shakes Rivka, and tries to wake her, as she has apparently died of a broken heart. The movie ends with Malka, alone after having left Yosef, looking over the city of Jerusalem. The movie was reviewed in the New York Times.

Cast

* Yaël Abecassis - Rivka * Yoram Hattab - Meïr * Meital Barda - Malka * Uri Klauzner - Yossef (as Uri Ran-Klausner) * Yussuf Abu-Warda - Rav Shimon * Lea Koenig - Elisheva (as Lea Koenig) * Sami Huri - Yaakov *

Rivka Michaeli Rivka Michaeli ( he, רבקה מיכאלי; born 14 April 1938) is an Israeli actress, comedian, television hostess, and entertainer. Early life Michaeli was born in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel). Her father's family is of ...

- Gynaecologist * Samuel Calderon - Uncle Shmouel * Noa Dori - Noa * Shireen Kadivar - Lexa

References

External links

*
Reviews of Kadosh
{{BIFA BestForeignFilm 1999 drama films 1999 films Films directed by Amos Gitai 1990s Hebrew-language films Films about Orthodox and Hasidic Jews Anti-Orthodox Judaism sentiment French drama films Israeli drama films 1990s French films