''Eyes Wide Open'' ( he, עיניים פקוחות,

translit. Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

Einayim Pkuhot) is a 2009 Israeli film. This script was written by the Israeli script-writer

Merav Doster Merav Doster (born 1976 in Israel) is an Israeli female screenwriter. Merav Doster came to fame with her first feature film '' Eyes Wide Open''. Her first film was selected by the Cannes Film Festival in 2009, and competed for two awards: "Un Cert ...

. It is the first film of the Israeli film director

Haim Tabakman The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name '' Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Ha ...

. The film was released in the UK on May 14, 2009 by

Peccadillo Pictures Peccadillo Pictures is a UK-based film producer and distributor of art house, gay and lesbian, independent and world cinema. They have provided distribution for many films such as ''Weekend (2011 film), Weekend'', ''Tomboy (2011 film), Tomboy'', ...

The film was co-produced in Israel, France and Germany.

Plot

Aaron (

Zohar Strauss Zohar Zalman Strauss ( he, זהר זלמן שטראוס; born 4 March 1972 in Haifa) is an Israeli theater, film, and television actor. Biography Strauss was born in Haifa, Israel, to a Hiloni, secular Jewish family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. ...

), a married Orthodox Jewish father of four living in Jerusalem, takes over his family's butcher shop after the recent death of his father. Ezri ( Ran Danker), a nineteen-year-old homeless Yeshiva student from Safed who has just arrived in Jerusalem, visits the shop to use the telephone. After turning down Ezri's offer to help around the shop, he later finds Ezri asleep in the local

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

and offers him space to stay at the shop. Aaron takes Ezri on as an apprentice and encourages his religious studies. Aaron offers Ezri a spare/store room upstairs in the shop. Later that day, while coming upstairs to see Ezri, Aaron finds a folder with some drawings made by his apprentice and seems surprised. He then expresses his admiration for Ezri's talent for drawing. The two men become close after Ezri invites Aaron to take a ritual bath in the outskirts of the city. Rivka, Aaron's devoted wife, initially welcomes her husband's apprentice into their family circle. One evening after Aaron asks Ezri to draw his portrait, Ezri makes a sexual advance, which Aaron rebuffs. Later, however, they kiss and begin a sexual relationship. Rivka becomes suspicious when her husband begins to arrive late at home. Aaron is no longer interested in making love with his wife. Rabbi Vaisben, a family friend, warns Aaron against associating too closely with Ezri, reporting that he was expelled from his local Safed yeshiva (rabbinic school), but Aaron defends him. Being a devout religious man, living in Mea Shearim, a Haredi community, Aaron is torn between his family and devotion to God, and the intense feelings he has for Ezri . Aaron is repeatedly told that Ezri is a bad influence and perhaps even cursed; local people start warning Ezri to stay away from them. Flyers begin to circulate in the neighborhood, denouncing Ezri's deeds in Safed (later on the film it becomes clear that Ezri's ex-boyfriend Ephraim is involved) prompting many to boycott the butcher's shop. Under increasing social, commercial and family pressure, Aaron tries to break off ties with Ezri but is unable to bring himself to do so. Confronted by Rabbi Vaisben, Aaron is unabashed, feeling alive only now. Ezri encounters his former lover outside the synagogue, in the attempt to confrontate him about the flyers, which escalates into Ezri being attacked by some locals. Aaron witnesses the attack but does not intervene. He consoles Ezri afterwards, but they both realize it is time for Ezri to leave the community. Aaron continues to be distressed by this, asking for Rivka's understanding and protection. He returns early one morning to the spot where he took a bath with Ezri. He submerges himself beneath the water for a prolonged period before the camera fades to black. Merav Doster, the screenplayer, has said that the final scene should not be understood as a drowning, as Aaron can emerge. But the director wished to leave the end uncertain.

Cast

* Ran Danker as Ezri *

as Aaron Fleischman * Ravit Rozen a.k.a. Tinkerbell as Rivka Fleischman * as Rabbi Vaisben *Avi Grayinik as Israel Fisher *Eva Zrihen-Attali as Sara * as Ephraim

Awards

Eyes Wide Open competed in the official selection of the

2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...

in the category " Un Certain Regard". Best Movie at the International Ghent Film Festival 2009.

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% out of 35 professional critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.9/10.

A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...

from '' The New York Times'' wrote in a positive review that the film "moves slowly and patiently through the ordeal of a single soul, illuminating in the process a cosmos of intense and hidden feeling."A Love Story That Tests an Ultra-Orthodox Jew - NYTimes.com
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References

External links