Fill the Void
swept the Israeli Academy Awards, including four of the top awards. This is not
entirely significant for international audiences unfamiliar with the year in
Israeli cinema, but it does give weight to the appealing aspects of the film
for foreign distribution. This is the type of film which is a revealing look at
marital cultural traditions in Israeli, not unlike Ang Lee’s debut, The Wedding
Song, did for Chinese culture.
Though it is
these unique traditions and specific methods of matchmaking which makes Fill the Void a marketable film, the
human element at the center of the story carries the film further than simple
cultural exploration. Carrying the emotional load of the film is Hadas Yaron,
who stars as Shira, an eighteen-year-old put in an impossible situation. Yaron
won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, as well as the Israeli Academy
Awards, and it is her ability to capture the audience’s sympathy which has
drawn comparisons to the work of Jane Austen.
Shira is the
youngest girl in her family and has just turned eighteen, which opens up a
world of possibilities for marriage. There are young men that are prospects for
her, but this becomes somewhat insignificant when Shira’s older sister, Esther
(Renana Raz), dies during childbirth. Esther leaves behind a child and husband,
Yochay (Yiftach Klein), who must consider marrying a widow from Belgium
The option to have Shira marry Yochay
in order to keep Esther’s child close to the family is one which plays out
slowly through the course of the film. It is not a decision taken lightly, and
we watch Shira come to full terms with the sacrifice she will be making by
considering this option. American audiences may struggle somewhat with the
politics and patriarchal control driving the marital plans within the culture,
but it is helped a great deal by making Shira the ultimate deciding factor in
the final outcome.
The DVD includes a commentary track
with Hadas Yaron and writer/director Rama Burshtein, who also has a Q&A
featurette.
Entertainment Value:
6.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8/10
Historical
Significance: 8/10
Disc Features: 7/10
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