Ushpizin

Rating: PG - Contains Coarse Language.
Duration: 90 mins.
Genre: Festival & Foreign.
Actors: Shuli Rand, Michal Bat-Sheva Rand, Shaul Mizrahi, Ilan Ganani, Avraham Abutboul, Yonathan Danino.
Director: Giddi Dar.
Release Date: Available Now.

Synopsis
Moshe and Mali are Orthodox Jews, and on the eve of Succoth they find themselves penniless and unable to fulfil their religious requirements. Desperate to please the Lord, so that His favour might bring them a child, they go there separate ways, praying fervently.

It seems like God is looking down on Moshe and Mali whose prayers are answered with two miracles, but here’s the rub, God also sends them a couple of guests, seemingly to test their already strained faith.

The Reality
The first thing that hit me when watching Ushpizin was Moshe and Mali’s total immersion in prayer and thanksgiving. Even in the midst of an argument they find time to praise God for the good, and petition him for their needs. It brought new light to the verse in Thessalonians; Never stop praying.

Not that their prayers have necessarily been answered before, it seems from a casual glance that they’ve been reading Pete Greig’s new book, God On Mute, as they keep a steadfast faith no matter how distant God seems.

They live you see in a religious neighbourhood, a simple life that borders dangerously on extreme poverty, but their most potent unanswered prayer is that of a child.

Now on the eve of Succoth they don’t even have the money to provide them with the elements required to observe this important festival.

But then two miracles happen, and God seems to bless them with over abundance.

Then comes the test. Two figures from Mali’s dubious past drop by unannounced, and because of the tradition of Succoth, Moshe and Mali cannot refuse them. OF course these men do not fear God, and cause all manner of troubles for the couple, causing Moshe to leave Mali.

Mali in his anguish literally runs through town to the wilderness and screams at God, with some unexpected results.

The Look
Ushpizin isn’t a movie about money or glamour, and as such doesn’t have an over exuberant budget. But it does show a neighbourhood where people exist, living a humble yet semi-content life.

Our more modern western outlook might call the entire ‘set’ rundown, but the characters would call it lived in, homely even. It’s real life and this is where Ushpizin gets a lot of its warmth and character.

There’s an honesty to the look of the movie, nothing has been overtly touched up, no one is trying to sell you anything. It’s a story about two people struggling with their faith and their day-to-day lives.

Food for thought
It’s only through being brutally honest with himself – and God – that Mali rediscovers his faith.