Main Cast: Shuli Rand, Michal Bat Sheva Rand, Shaul Mizrahi, Ilan Gannai, Avraham Abutbul
Release Year: 2005
Country: IL
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
The insular world of Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem comes to the screen (with their blessings) in this warm comedy drama. Moshe (Shuli Rand) was once a secular Jew, but he rediscovered his faith and became an ultra-Orthodox Jew, and with his wife, Mali (Michal Bat Sheva Rand), he struggles to support their family. With the harvest festival of Sukkot around the corner, Moshe is broke, and asks for help from a yeshiva charitable fund. Moshe is told the fund has been depleted, and he and Mali are left with no options but to pray for a miracle. To their surprise, the next day they're informed some money was found in the fund after all, and they are given 1,000 dollars; Moshe and Mali believe this is the miracle they asked for, and they joyously make plans to build a sukkah, a gazebo-like structure where Orthodox Jews entertain guests and serve their meals. Just as he completes the new sukkah, Moshe is surprised by the unexpected arrival of Eliahu (Shaul Mizrahi) and Yosef (Ilan Gannai), two old friends from his restless days before he embraced his current faith. Imagining the Lord has sent him guests as part of the miracle, Moshe takes in his old pals and tries to make peace with their rambunctious ways, but what he doesn't know is that the two are on the run from the law, having recently escaped from jail. Ushpizin was scripted by leading man Shuli Rand, who is in real life an ultra-Orthodox Jew and demanded a number of conditions before agreeing to participate in the making of the film (such as the producers agreeing to never show the picture on the Sabbath). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Cast
Shuli Rand - Moshe
Michal Bat Sheva Rand - Mali
Shaul Mizrahi - Eliahu
Ilan Gannai - Yosef
Avraham Abutbul
Yonathan Danino; Daniel Dayan; Michael Vaigel; Daniel Rand; Yizhak Levkovits; Shmuel Ovadia
Credit
Gidi Dar - Director, Isaac Sehayek - Editor, Nadav Harel - Editor, Gadi Levi - Line Producer, Schlomit Smadja - Line Producer, Ziv Ben Zvi - Line Producer, Nathaniel Mechaly - Composer (Music Score), Ido Dolev - Production Designer, Raphi Bukaee - Producer, Gidi Dar - Producer, Chen Harpaz - Sound/Sound Designer, Shuli Rand - Screenwriter, Amit Yasur - Screenwriter
(Aram. "guests"). The seven mystical guests who, according to Jewish Mysticism, visit the tabernacle (Sukkah) every day during the festival of Sukkot<; They Are abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. The source for this visitation is the verse in the Zohar which says, "When one sits in the sukkkah, Abraham and six righteous men come to share his company" (Zohar 5:103b). Each one in turn is seen as leading the others into the sukkah on successive nights of the festival.
It is customary to invite these seven guests into the sukkah each night with a special request, reading in part, "May it be Your will, Lord my God, and God of my fathers, that the Divine Presence will dwell in our midst ... I hereby invite these exalted guests to dinner---Abraham, etc." This custom, originally adopted by the kabbalists and later by the Ḥasidim, has now been adopted by many Orthodox Jews. The sages said that to merit the visit of these seven distinguished guests, one must also invite guests of flesh and blood from among the poor, so that it was a custom to invite a needy student to sit at the head of the table to deputize for the special ushpizin guest of the evening. In the Kabbalah each of the guests corresponds to one of the Sefirot (attributes of God). Each day, it is held, one of these attributes dominates the atmosphere of the sukkah. It became customary to include among the decorations of the sukkah a plaque mentioning the seven "guests."
Moshe and Mali Bellanga are an impoverished, childless, Hasidicbaal teshuva ("returnees to Judaism") couple in the Breslov community in Jerusalem. After Moshe is passed over for a stipend he expected, they cannot pay their bills, much less prepare for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Moshe admires a particularly beautiful etrog, or citron, one of the four species required for the holiday observance. They console themselves by recalling a saying of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov that difficult times are a test of faith. After some anguished prayer, they receive an unexpected monetary gift on the eve of the holiday and Moshe buys the etrog for 1000 shekels, a large sum of money that is much more than he can afford. The couple is visited by a pair of escaped convicts, one of whom knew Moshe in his earlier, non-religious life. The convicts become their guests (ushpizin) in the sukkah, creating many conflicts and straining Moshe and Mali's relationship.
While a few scenes were shot in Haredi neighbourhoods, most of the film was shot at the Schneller Orphanage and Jerusalem's Nahlaot neighbourhood. Several streets in Nahlaot feature frequently in the film: Rama Street (where Ben-Baruch meets Moshe and offers him the Sukkah, and where Moshe and Malli part), Zichron Tuvyah (where Moshe's Yeshiva is located) and Tavor Street, while others appear less frequently or even in single shots. The stone buildings of Nahlaot substitute for the Shmuel Hanavi area, though landmarks such as the Wolfson Towers and the Yad Labanim building reveal the true location.
Soundtrack
No separate soundtrack has been sold, though two of the main songs, Ata Kadosh and Yesh Rak HaKadosh Baruch Hu were later released on an album by Adi Ran.
Release and reception
The film received mostly positive reviews, and was described as a heart warming tale for the holidays, much like the American Christmas movies. Michal Batsheva Rand's performance won many praises, being her first performance on screen.
The film was a box-office success, becoming one of the most financially successful Israeli movies of 2005. It attracted many religious and Haredi viewers who normally do not go to the cinema.
Piracy and Haredi culture
The film was not directed at the Haredi film consumer, since Haredim do not go to movie theatres. Nonetheless, it attracted much attention and this led to heavy downloading and piracy of the movie from people who otherwise had no access to see the film. After inquiries from people who had watched unauthorized copies of the film asking how to pay, pashkvilen were put up in Haredi neighbourhoods. The advertisements told the public of the financial problem that resulted from the piracy, a reminder of the prohibition against stealing and included a post office box and telephone number in which to pay with a credit card. Another way to repay the makers of the movie was to call up movie theatres, order tickets, and not show up.[1]
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for three Ophir Awards and Shuli Rand won for Best Actor. In his speech, he thanked God and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. The film was also nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Shaul Mizrahi.
