Fill the Void movie

penguin

Tue, May 07 2013, 6:14 pm

I actually watched it twice. In between I watched some 'behind the scenes' interviews etc, and definitely understood it better the second time.

My Hebrew is fairly decent, but some of the dialog is in an undertone and not all that clear (the first time I totally missed that the aunt didn't have arms! and BTW, why does she cover her hair? She definitely tells Shira she could have married a fellow missing a leg, but 'hu lo matza chein be'einai', unless that would have been a second marriage? a bit unclear. and do we ever find out if she was born that way or suffered an accident?)

Anyhow, is that ridiculous that I watched it twice? I have no cheshek to watch Ushpizin again, the escaped convict friends were too scary! But I guess this movie is the closest I would feel comfortable to watching a love story at this stage in my life.

And can any chassidish women here tell us if the relationship stuff is realistic? Both Yochai and the Rebbe seem to be saying she can't marry him out of duty, she has to have feelings. And that is so not what I would expect from a community where they get married after one or two beshows. Although possibly with a brother in law there would be different expectations? One wonders.

peacemom

Wed, May 08 2013, 12:52 am

It seems the aunt must have been married because the red headed girl "Frieda" was her daughter. The aunt wanted Yochai to marry Frieda and not Shira. Frieda was an older single and cousin to Shira. I still haven't figured out if she was a widow and why they needed to depict her as armless.
The acting was excellent, but the movie was so slow and boring. Such slow and quiet conversations. The role of Shira was done so well, but she was a dull character. The ending was completely disappointing. Why was the wedding in the house and what was the meaning of the last scene? Shira looked like she would faint from fear! Totally inappropriate ending...can imagine what non-religious would think of that. She could have been a bit happier at the end or the movie should have ended before that point.

amother

Wed, May 08 2013, 10:34 am

HUH? One beshow is more than enough to know if you have feelings, positive, negative, or neutral. Most girls are asked if they want to marry the guy. They all have the option of saying NO. No one is forced to go under the chupa! They can have two or three or even more beshows until they are positive that this is the one they want to marry. With the high divorce and OTD rate today, no girl is being forced into anything unless she has parents that are emotionally disturbed. The girls are very excited and very happy to marry the one that Hashem has chosen and sent to their doorstep. That is how they view it. They can say Yes or No, always.

sarachana

Wed, May 08 2013, 12:16 pm

peacemom wrote:

I was thinking same... I thought the ending really contradicts what Rama was trying to show the world.

she said it herself..."I wanted it to be a love story, s''xy...and to show the world that you can have both in the orthodox world....its a story about a girl entering adulthood and becoming a woman"...serious? that's gonna fly with the outside world? when she looks traumatized?!?! As untznius as it might be for a movie, it would of been so much better to at least have them hug.

The end is very disturbing! and im not even an outsider!...or maybe I am since I didn't meet and marry my husband with only one "date"

Tapuzi

Mon, Jul 01 2013, 1:35 pm

The aunt is not Freida's mother. At Frieda's sister's vort she tells Frieda that she, too, had never married. Frieda asks her why she covers her hair and she says the Rebbi told her to so people wouldn't talk. Frieda and her sister are Shira's friends, their mother is in the vort scenes. She's short and chubby.
I loved the movie and felt the ending was realistic. I just wish I knew what her letter to the Rebbi said!

Grandma 1

Mon, Jul 22 2013, 11:19 am

The movie has been playing, with English subtitles, in select theaters in the New York area. You can check the locations, and schedule, online. We saw it yesterday in Malvern, near the Five Towns. It's also playing in Manhattan, and New Jersey.
I found it beautifully done, and very moving. As others have said, I too, was a little confused/disappointed with the final scene, but it leaves room for the audience to speculate on how it will all turn out. I choose to be optimistic.
I thought that the actress who played Shira, was wonderful. It was also nice, at some points, to be able to appreciate some
of the nuances of the original Hebrew dialogue, as compared with the English subtitles.
Unfortunately, secular audiences, will not understand a lot of the customs, with which frum audiences are familiar, such as the Kallah's fervent shuckling while davening, before the Chupa, and all all of the little paper kvitlach in her siddur.
I think that the movie has been playing in this area for a while now, so hurry if you want to catch it.

amother

Wed, Jul 24 2013, 10:41 am

Absolutely loved this movie! Would watch it again. Beautifully filmed, fabulously done!
THe director/producer/whatever did an excellent job in filming the actors close up so that you saw the expressions on their faces.
I loved the ending. You are left with an awkward feeling of "what happens next is none of your business" which is how it is in real life. No one shares their yichud room experience with anyone.
But the chasan comes across as warm and loving, and expressive, and I am sure they lived happily ever after, and that he did his best to make his new kalla as happy as possible.

I loved the slow moving thoughtful way of filming, the main character was beautiful without any makeup until her wedding day, when her mascara should have been waterproof.
She was not forced to marry him, no one is. The Rebbe hinted that she would have to arrive at that point of wanting him...the other beshow made her think twice and not take him for granted.

Some parts were very funny, LOL funny, that eased the tension a bit.
Its almost 100% realistic. Some parts were a bit reflecting on the Israeli mentality. Which is different than American Chasidish couples. The Rebbe was the only character that did not come across as real enough.
The others were wonderful.
Knowing Hebrew is still better than the English subtitles, which take 10 words to explain 1. Hebrew is a concise language, with one word telling it all.

dee's mommy

Tue, Oct 22 2013, 11:09 pm

I just borrowed the DVD from the library, and there is a Q and A segment that explains the ending a bit. Originally, it was a much longer scene, which for some reason, was cut because it was felt that it was "starting another movie." The scene was originally a conversation between Shira and Yochai, in which they are nervous around each other. They eat a bit, and he asks her what is wrong. She says nothing, and then he says something like "my wife, what is wrong?" She answers that she is scared, and he asks why. Shira then says something like "I'm scared you don't love me as much as I do."

There was some other explanation as to what was in the note, but they decided to leave it open to interpretation.

I have to say, I think this was such a beautiful film. I am so glad I saw it.

bigsis144

Tue, Dec 31 2013, 8:56 pm

I feel like I must be some uncultured heathen for being BORED OUT OF MY MIND watching this movie. Yes, long awkward pauses are probably realistic but there are

so

many

awkward

pauses.

The main character isn't unlikeable, but I don't feel any connection to her. She's so passive and her smiles are so few are far-between. Even playing music doesn't make her smile... she's just so darn serious and intense all the time, yet her intensity doesn't reveal any actual emotions.

The cinematography took a while to get used to -- so much soft-focus and bathing everything in light. I noticed at the beginning Shira wore white and cream in almost every scene, and toward the end, they had her dressed in at least half a dozen different BLACK outfits. Is this showing how she's growing up? But her mother wears pink and blue... actually, I don't think I ever noticed a single outfit repeated. How much clothing do they own already? I guess they're supposed to be a wealthy family, but...

It was nice seeing "real" frum people, with realistic l'vush and nigginum (even sung authentically off key at times), rather than the horribly fake Hollywood version.

I guess I'm not cut out for art films. Toward the end, when Shira said, "I'm afraid to die", I said, "Oh! She thinks her brother-in-law is cursed! That's why her sister died!" but oh, well.

I NEED EXPLOSIONS. Or at least a PLOT.
Throughout the movie I just kept yelling at my laptop, "GET ON WITH IT!"

ETA: I realized this movie, at least for me, had a case of the Eight Deadly Words: "I don't care what happens to these people."
The only character that made me care about them at all was baby Mordechay. Seeing the baby crying at the shiva really hit me in the gut. I guess because of Mordechay I wanted Yochay to be happy, but whether he went to Belgium or married Freida or Shira or whatever, I couldn't care less.

Last edited by bigsis144 on Wed, Jan 01 2014, 10:56 am; edited 1 time in total