Themes: Fathers and Sons, Mothers and Sons, Interracial/Cross-Cultural Romance
Main Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Ronit Elkabetz, Moni Moshonov, Lili Kosashvili, Sapir Kugman
Release Year: 2001
Country: IL/FR
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
A couple sets out to find the perfect bride for their son, whether their son likes it or not, in this Israeli comedy. Zaza (Lior Louie Ashkenazi) is a graduate student in his early thirties who has finally found the woman of his dreams -- Judith (Ronit Elkabetz), a Moroccan immigrant with a daughter, Madonna (Sapir Kugman), from a previous marriage. Zaza and Judith have similar interests, a great personal rapport, a keen understanding of one another's feelings, and excellent sexual chemistry, but for Zaza there's one little problem -- his parents. His mother Lili (Lili Kosashvili) and father Yasha (Moni Moshonov) are bound and determined to marry their son to a nice Georgian Jewish girl (who is, of course, a virgin), and they not only disapprove of Zaza's relationship with Judith, they insist on fixing him up on dates as if he isn't in a committed relationship; when that fails to make an impression on Zaza, Lili and Yasha use emotional blackmail against their son, and Lili even goes so far as to confront Judith and insist she stop seeing her son. Late Marriage was shown at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Un Certain Regard series; Lili Kosashvili, who makes her screen debut playing Lili, is actually the mother of the film's writer/director, {$Dover Kosashvili. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
From its opening moments, Dover Kosashvili's Late Marriage treads a fine and dangerous line. Kosashvili apparently has no fear of leaving the audience asking, "Is this supposed to be funny?" Of course, the same can be said for Amerindie darlings Neil LaBute and Todd Solondz, and while Late Marriage occasionally inspires the same queasy feelings as their work, Kosashvili is, in the end, a more honest filmmaker. He gets right into the world of these characters. He doesn't allow himself or the audience the luxury of simply looking down on them and feeling superior. Zaza (Lior Louie Ashkenazi) is intelligent, handsome, and charming, so Judith's (Ronit Elkabetz) attraction to him is believable. He has a sense of humor about his predicament. But he's also lazy, cynical, spoiled, self-involved, and infuriatingly passive. Kosashvili presents the film's eroticism as matter-of-factly as he does its family drama. But from Zaza's flirtation with a precocious 17-year-old to his passionate assignations with Judith, Kosashvili doesn't shy away from the seaminess of Zaza's romantic life. In the end, even the graphic sex scenes are infused with the feeling of ugliness that permeates the film. This feeling reaches its peak in the pivotal scene where Zaza's meddling family confronts Judith, and in the final wedding scene. The film can be seen as a dark comedy, but it's a challenging work that may not generate much laughter. Late Marriage throws the viewer off balance, looking blankly at a society ruled by misogynistic and inhumane traditions, and thus leaving the audience to make its own judgments, about both the behavior depicted and the filmmaker's intentions. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Late Marriage (Hebrew: חתונה מאוחרת, Hatuna Meuheret) is a 2001Israeli film directed by Dover Kosashvili. The film centers on Zaza (Lior Ashkenazi, in his breakthrough role[1]), the 31-year-old child of tradition-minded Georgian Jewish immigrants who are anxiously trying to arrange a marriage for him. Unbeknownst to them, he is secretly dating a 34-year-old divorcée, Judith (Ronit Elkabetz). When his parents discover the relationship and violently intervene, Zaza must choose between his family traditions and his love.[2][dead link]
Most of the main characters are Georgian-Israeli and the dialogue is partly in the Judaeo-Georgian language and partly in Hebrew.
The film was positively reviewed and was Israel's submission for Best Foreign Language Film in that year's Academy Awards.
Zaza (Lior Ashkenazi) is a 31-year-old Georgian-Israeli Ph.D. student at Tel Aviv University whose family is trying to arrange a marriage for him within the Georgian community. The film's beginning sees Zaza and his parents Yasha and Lili visiting the home of a possible match, who is still in high school. Zaza is clearly unenthusiastic and it is mentioned that he has seen dozens of prospective brides before this.
After dropping his parents off at their apartment building, Zaza drives to a pay phone and calls his girlfriend Judith (Ronit Elkabetz), a 34-year-old Moroccan-Israeli divorcée who he is dating without his parents' knowledge. After Judith's daughter Madona has gone to bed (Judith is unsuccessfully attempting to conceal the relationship from her), Zaza goes to her apartment and they have sex, in an explicit, naturalistic sequence that takes up around a third of the film.[3]
Meanwhile, Zaza's parents find that they have left their housekey in Zaza's car and spend the night at the home of relatives Simon and Margalit. When Zaza doesn't answer repeated phone calls during the night, Yasha concludes that he is with Judith; apparently Yasha was aware of the relationship but Zaza had promised him that he would end it. Judith is unacceptable to Zaza's parents because she is divorced, has a child, and is older than Zaza. A number of Zaza's relatives stake out Judith's apartment building, planning to confront the couple and frighten Judith into leaving Zaza.
The next time Zaza visits Judith they do just this, barging into Judith's apartment and attempting to break up the relationship through polite argument, humiliation, and threats of violence, as Madona (who Judith has finally introduced to Zaza) watches, frightened. At one point Simon takes down a decorative sword hanging on Judith's wall and holds it to her throat. Zaza and Judith say little, and eventually Zaza unconvincingly tells Judith that the relationship is over and leaves with his family. Zaza returns shortly after and attempts to resume the evening where it left off, but Judith quietly tells him that she doesn't want to see him again. Back at his apartment, Zaza has a further confrontation with his parents.
Some time later Zaza's parents return to Judith's apartment building. When Judith comes home, Lili approaches her and gives Madona a teddy bear as a peace offering, while Yasha stays in the car. Inside the apartment, Lili asks Judith if she has seen Zaza. Judith initially says that she hasn't, but soon she tearfully admits that Zaza has been calling her and begging her to marry him. Judith has refused because Zaza's reaction when his family invaded her apartment made her realize that "he loves you more than me," and she has decided the relationship is bad for all concerned. Back in the car, Yasha asks Lili if she will accept Judith as a wife for Zaza. Lili, now more sympathetic toward Judith, tells him that they should wait and see if Zaza gets over her.
The next scene opens with Zaza and Yasha standing next to each other at urinals in a public restroom. It becomes clear that they are at Zaza's wedding reception, and Zaza is drunk. Zaza returns to the reception hall and gives a long, awkward, repetitive speech, while his new wife—who is not Judith—stands uncomfortably by his side. Eventually he tells the guests that he "has a woman more beautiful than my wife," and drags Simon onstage to ask him to confirm this. Simon defuses the situation by acting as though Zaza was referring to his mother, and Zaza plays along, embracing Lili when Simon brings her onstage. The film ends with Zaza and his bride dancing with the rest of his family.
Late Marriage was positively received by critics. Metacritic, which calculates a score from zero to 100 from a film's reviews, gave it a score of 82, translating to "Universal acclaim."[5]
