Tehilim (2007) (Psalms)
Hebrew with English subtitles
The Frankels, an Israeli family: Dad (Shmuel Vilojni), Mom (Limor Goldstein), teenage son Menachem (Michael Moshonov), and younger brother David (Yonathan Alster) are living a rather commonplace middleclass existence in Jerusalem. The boys go to school; Dad goes to work; Mom makes challah on the Sabbath; and once a week the men of the family study Tehilim (psalms) or Talmud with the Orthodox grandfather.
The opening scene is a Talmud study on how one should pray when you are lost & don't know the direction of the Holy of Holies. In that case, you should direct your prayers to HaShem (the name) above.
In the evenings, Menachem leaves his apartment, hides his Kippah, (head covering), and hangs out with his secular pals and girlfriend, smoking (pot) and drinking. (The scene includes a lot of traffic with very little action.)
One day, a stressed out Dad gets into a minor car accident while driving his sons to school. He sends Menachem out for help. When the boy returns with the police, Dad is missing; and little David is alone in the backseat. (What happened to Dad? We don't know.)
The rest of the family goes through severe withdrawal pains: handling finances, dealing with nightmares, and stressing out relationships. In the end the mother and the two boys wait at a bus stop for a very long time. (What happened to Dad?)
Perhaps this is a metaphor for God leaving us.
I felt that this movie had a high concept but a very amateur execution. The long scenes of extraneous noise and no action were painful to watch. Without pausing the DVD I left the movie several times to get some snacks.
The Frankels, an Israeli family: Dad (Shmuel Vilojni), Mom (Limor Goldstein), teenage son Menachem (Michael Moshonov), and younger brother David (Yonathan Alster) are living a rather commonplace middleclass existence in Jerusalem. The boys go to school; Dad goes to work; Mom makes challah on the Sabbath; and once a week the men of the family study Tehilim (psalms) or Talmud with the Orthodox grandfather.
The opening scene is a Talmud study on how one should pray when you are lost & don't know the direction of the Holy of Holies. In that case, you should direct your prayers to HaShem (the name) above.
In the evenings, Menachem leaves his apartment, hides his Kippah, (head covering), and hangs out with his secular pals and girlfriend, smoking (pot) and drinking. (The scene includes a lot of traffic with very little action.)
One day, a stressed out Dad gets into a minor car accident while driving his sons to school. He sends Menachem out for help. When the boy returns with the police, Dad is missing; and little David is alone in the backseat. (What happened to Dad? We don't know.)
The rest of the family goes through severe withdrawal pains: handling finances, dealing with nightmares, and stressing out relationships. In the end the mother and the two boys wait at a bus stop for a very long time. (What happened to Dad?)
Perhaps this is a metaphor for God leaving us.
I felt that this movie had a high concept but a very amateur execution. The long scenes of extraneous noise and no action were painful to watch. Without pausing the DVD I left the movie several times to get some snacks.
