THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH FILM’S 13TH ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL
JEWISHFILM.2010

Eyes Wide Open (Eynayim Pekuhot)

by Haim Tabakman
Israel/France/Germany, 2009, 91 min, 35mm, Hebrew with English subtitles
New England Premiere

In Haim Tabakman’s breathtaking debut, Aaron (Zohar Strauss), a Haredi butcher with a wife (Tinkerbell) and four children, is drawn to the sensitive young man he has taken under his wing as an apprentice (Ran Danker). Starring three of Israel’s most popular actors, this Cannes Film Festival selection has won a host of awards, including Best First Film at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

"The quiet and confident feature explores the conflict between sexual desire and religious obligation. Set in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem, the film gives nearly equal weight to both sides in that struggle. Its scrupulous, humane sympathy gives this small, sorrowful film a glow of insight and a pulse of genuine, openhearted curiosity. It moves slowly and patiently through the ordeal of a single soul, illuminating in the process a cosmos of intense and hidden feeling." - New York Times

LINKS
www.jewishfilm.org

REVIEW
"Passion and Identity Crisis in a Pious Community," The New York Times