''Shiva'', also known as ''7 Days'', ''Seven Days'' and ''The Seven Days'', is a 2008

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Ronit Elkabetz Ronit Elkabetz (; 27 November 1964 – 19 April 2016) was an Israeli actress, screenwriter and film director. She worked in both Israeli and French cinema. She won three Ophir Awards and received a total of seven nominations. Biography Elkabe ...

and Shlomi Elkabetz. It is the second feature to be directed by the siblings following the unhappy marriage of Viviane Amsalem following 2004's '' To Take a Wife''. In 2014 it was succeeded by the final film in the trilogy '' Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem''. The film received international acclaim, winning awards at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

and the

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

. ''"Shiva"'' was filmed in late 2007 and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week in May 2008, earning global praise. It later won the Wolgin Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival and two

Ophir Awards The Ophir Awards (), full name: the Israel Film Academy Award, sometimes also known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Televi ...

for cinematography and supporting actress (

Evelin Hagoel Evelin Hagoel (; born 27 January 1961) is an Israeli actress. She appeared in more than twenty films since 2001. Selected filmography References External links * 1961 births Living people Israeli film actresses Israeli people of ...

). The film also achieved success in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where it won several awards, including best film and best actress.

Plot

For seven days a large family of Moroccan descent observes the Jewish mourning ritual of

shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

when a brother dies. Living together again reveals many tensions and conflicts between family members. Amid the tensions, the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

rages in the background. The plot of ''"Shiv'a"'' (The Seven Days) opens in Kiryat Yam during the Gulf War (January 1991) at the funeral of Maurice Ohayon, who passed away unexpectedly. Maurice's Moroccan family gathers for the traditional seven-day mourning period (''shiva''). The family includes Maurice’s mother, Hanina (Sulika Kadosh), his widow Ilana (Keren Mor), six brothers—Meir (Albert Iluz), Haim (Moshe Ivgy), Itamar (Alon Aboutboul), Jacky (Rafi Amzaleg), David (David Ohayon), and Charlie (Yechiel Elkabetz)—and two sisters, Simona (Hanna Azoulay Hasfari) and Vivian (Ronit Elkabetz).

Cast

as Vivianne * Albert Lluz as Meir *

Yael Abecassis Yael Abecassis (; born 19 July 1967) is an Israeli actress and model. Biography Yael Abecassis was born in Ashkelon, Israel, to parents of Moroccan Jewish descent. Abecassis married Israeli actor Lior Miller in 1996 and has one child. They ...

as Lili *

Simon Abkarian Simon Abkarian (Armenian: Սիմոն Աբգարյան, born 5 March 1962) is a French-Armenian actor. Life and career Born in Gonesse, Val d'Oise, of Armenian descent, Abkarian spent his childhood in Lebanon. He moved to Los Angeles, where he ...

as Eliau *

Hana Laszlo Hana Laszlo (; born 14 June 1953) is an Israeli actress, television presenter and comedian. In 2005, she won a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film '' Free Zone''. She has also received four Ophir Award n ...

as Ita *

Moshe Ivgy Moshe Ivgy (; born 29 November 1953) is an Israeli actor and director. Biography Moshe Ivgy was born in Casablanca, Morocco, to a Moroccan Jewish family. He was married to actress Irit Sheleg. Their daughter Dana Ivgy is also an actress. Afte ...

as Haim *

Keren Mor Keren Mor (; born March 18, 1964) is an Israeli actress and comedian. Biography During her mandatory military service in the IDF, Mor studied acting at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio in Tel Aviv. Mor is married to the Israeli actor Menashe Noy ...

as Ilana * Alon Aboutboul as Itamar

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' compared it unfavourably to '' To Take a Wife'' while at the same time praising the acting as "flawless". ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' wondered "why they ha been asked to spend two hours listening to the angry resentments of a disintegrating family, even if they admire the cast and co-directors' skill..."

References

External links

* 2008 films Films directed by Ronit Elkabetz Films about Jews and Judaism French war drama films 2000s French-language films 2000s Arabic-language films 2000s Hebrew-language films 2000s war drama films Gulf War films Films about Moroccan Jews Israeli war drama films 2008 drama films 2008 multilingual films Israeli multilingual films 2000s French films Les Films du Losange films Arabic-language Israeli films French-language Israeli films {{Israel-film-stub