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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Drama Director: Avi Nesher |
When London screenwriter and feminist play writer Hadar Galron and Israeli filmmaker Avie Nesher combine their own experiences
and observations of life within traditional Jewish culture, “The Secrets” is created. The film is a Hebrew language film about the
complex relationships between two young women attending seminary school in Safed, one of the holiest cities in Israel. The film is a
very inspirational, yet extremely sobering look at the growing conflict arising between a women’s daily life in an Orthodox community
and her expectation as dictated by the Jewish law. Traditionally, Orthodox Jewish women are put in a secondary position and do not
attend institutions of higher Jewish learning, but they are instead kept uneducated and unlearned because it is though that “a learned
woman is a ruined woman.”
Lately there has been a quiet revolution where Midrashas, or the schools created for the women, are being established with hopes of
eventually gaining equal rights for women under the Orthodox Jewish law. Many women who attend these Midrashas hope that one day
women will have the same opportunity to become a rabbi as men in the very Orthodox community.
As the film begins, viewers are introduced to Naomi, played by Ania Bukstein, the extremely smart daughter of a powerful and very
orthodox rabbi, who decides to attend a Midrasha rather than agree to the pre-arranged marriage that was set for her by her father’s
banal protégé, Michael, played by Guri Alfi. It can be sense early on in the film that Naomi’s strong sense of female assuredness that is
certain to eventually clash with the impracticalities of traditional Jewish convention.
One student that Naomi meets at school is the rebellious spirit named Michelle, played by Michal Shtamler, who is a chain smoking
cynic that is running from some sort of shady past in Paris. The two girls initially find little in common with each other, in fact they
despise each other at the very beginning, until they both begin to care for Anouk, played by Fanny Ardant, a beautiful but mysterious
older lady with a terminal illness.
Based on Naomi’s knowledge of the Kabbalah, the three women begin to break all of the traditions of the faith and participate in a
series of rituals, also known as tikunim, that the three women hope will cleanse Anouk of all of her sins before she dies. Viewers learn
that Anouk had recently spent time in prison for a crime of passion, so naturally her inclusion in the story gives the proceedings a taste
of an interesting moral challenge. One specific scene takes place in a sacred cleansing pool and is one of the most moving moments
in the film.. Since these rituals stretch the borders of normal Jewish law, the women must hide all of their actions from the school’s
headmistress, which proves to be very challenging since some involve a certain degree of self-mortification.
Through their closeness with Anouk, Naomi and Michelle’s relationship unexpectedly turns romantic, however Naomi finds nothing in
the scriptures that forbids her to be in love with another woman, it only tells that male homosexuality is banned, so the two allow their
relationship to blossom. The film could have taken a turn for the overly melodramatic worst at this point in the film if it were not for the
believability of the relationship between Bukstein and Shtamler’s characters. The two women display a strong passion for each other
that is unexpected yet convincing. Some will recognize this as the same emotions were what sold “Brokeback Mountain” to an
extremely skeptical audience of filmgoers.
“The Secrets” plays as both a convincing argument against the outdated traditions of Jewish practices and as a sentimental star-
crossed love story, very similar to that of Romeo and Juliet. However, Nesher’s skillful hand as director and the convincing
performances of the lead actresses allow both halves of the film to peacefully coexist without becoming overly mushy.
This is in no way a film for everyone who enjoys watching movies. This is a film that was created for a select crowd and it is that crowd
that will get the most enjoyment out of it. There are some moments that will turn away many viewers, but it is those same moments that
make this film so special in the first place. For those looking for a sobering look at a hot topic issue in the world, this is a great film and
is definitely worth taking a look at.
and observations of life within traditional Jewish culture, “The Secrets” is created. The film is a Hebrew language film about the
complex relationships between two young women attending seminary school in Safed, one of the holiest cities in Israel. The film is a
very inspirational, yet extremely sobering look at the growing conflict arising between a women’s daily life in an Orthodox community
and her expectation as dictated by the Jewish law. Traditionally, Orthodox Jewish women are put in a secondary position and do not
attend institutions of higher Jewish learning, but they are instead kept uneducated and unlearned because it is though that “a learned
woman is a ruined woman.”
Lately there has been a quiet revolution where Midrashas, or the schools created for the women, are being established with hopes of
eventually gaining equal rights for women under the Orthodox Jewish law. Many women who attend these Midrashas hope that one day
women will have the same opportunity to become a rabbi as men in the very Orthodox community.
As the film begins, viewers are introduced to Naomi, played by Ania Bukstein, the extremely smart daughter of a powerful and very
orthodox rabbi, who decides to attend a Midrasha rather than agree to the pre-arranged marriage that was set for her by her father’s
banal protégé, Michael, played by Guri Alfi. It can be sense early on in the film that Naomi’s strong sense of female assuredness that is
certain to eventually clash with the impracticalities of traditional Jewish convention.
One student that Naomi meets at school is the rebellious spirit named Michelle, played by Michal Shtamler, who is a chain smoking
cynic that is running from some sort of shady past in Paris. The two girls initially find little in common with each other, in fact they
despise each other at the very beginning, until they both begin to care for Anouk, played by Fanny Ardant, a beautiful but mysterious
older lady with a terminal illness.
Based on Naomi’s knowledge of the Kabbalah, the three women begin to break all of the traditions of the faith and participate in a
series of rituals, also known as tikunim, that the three women hope will cleanse Anouk of all of her sins before she dies. Viewers learn
that Anouk had recently spent time in prison for a crime of passion, so naturally her inclusion in the story gives the proceedings a taste
of an interesting moral challenge. One specific scene takes place in a sacred cleansing pool and is one of the most moving moments
in the film.. Since these rituals stretch the borders of normal Jewish law, the women must hide all of their actions from the school’s
headmistress, which proves to be very challenging since some involve a certain degree of self-mortification.
Through their closeness with Anouk, Naomi and Michelle’s relationship unexpectedly turns romantic, however Naomi finds nothing in
the scriptures that forbids her to be in love with another woman, it only tells that male homosexuality is banned, so the two allow their
relationship to blossom. The film could have taken a turn for the overly melodramatic worst at this point in the film if it were not for the
believability of the relationship between Bukstein and Shtamler’s characters. The two women display a strong passion for each other
that is unexpected yet convincing. Some will recognize this as the same emotions were what sold “Brokeback Mountain” to an
extremely skeptical audience of filmgoers.
“The Secrets” plays as both a convincing argument against the outdated traditions of Jewish practices and as a sentimental star-
crossed love story, very similar to that of Romeo and Juliet. However, Nesher’s skillful hand as director and the convincing
performances of the lead actresses allow both halves of the film to peacefully coexist without becoming overly mushy.
This is in no way a film for everyone who enjoys watching movies. This is a film that was created for a select crowd and it is that crowd
that will get the most enjoyment out of it. There are some moments that will turn away many viewers, but it is those same moments that
make this film so special in the first place. For those looking for a sobering look at a hot topic issue in the world, this is a great film and
is definitely worth taking a look at.
