← Back to Reviews
in
Tikkun, 2015
A young Orthodox Jewish scholar named Haim-Aaron (Aharon Traitel) is at what looks like the beginning of a crisis of self and a crisis of faith. When he has a near-death experience and is revived by his father (Khalifa Natour), the aftermath pushes him even further into alienation from his faith and his family.
A religious person struggling with temptation--and specifically a younger person struggling with lust and the "temptation of the flesh"--is not new ground. This film distinguishes itself at both extremes of representing the theme. On one hand, bringing an incredibly literal meaning by setting many sequences in the slaughterhouse owned by Haim-Aaron's father; on the other hand, incorporating fantasy sequences that consume not only the main character, but also those around him.
Much like how I felt about Merchant of Four Seasons, this film is a jarring vision of someone who no longer belongs in their own life. Haim-Aaron is the kind of personality driven to extremes---we see him using an incredibly tiny pencil and when he accidentally drops his prayer box, he punishes himself with a strict fast. But what happens when someone drawn to extremes reaches a breaking point? Where does that intensity then find an outlet?
At the intersection of lust and denial, a lot of people turn to anger. And in the very specific case of men who are denied (or who deny themselves) access to sex and intimacy, usually the manifestation is anger or even violence toward women. But in this film, the anxiety Haim-Aaron feels mostly turns inward. When it does turn outward, however, it is very disturbing to see, as he has lost his sense of moral and ethical boundaries.
As someone who is not very religious, it can be kind of painful watching such a narrative unfold. Here is a young person who is so bound up in his beliefs that he must agonize over whether or not to touch his own body for pleasure. And he is so conflicted about how to relate to women and his own desire for sex that he is only comfortable seeking out such intimacy from someone who is not a threat and will not bear witness to his "depravity"--ie someone who is incapable of consent. This is not a specific criticism of Judaism, but rather something that I feel I have seen across different religions. The habit of denying natural urges can lead to an implosion or an explosion.
This is a portrait of a person who has fallen almost entirely out of his own being. Haim-Aaron is alienated from his own body, the bodies of women he finds attractive, his faith, and his family. One of the harshest aspects of the film is when Haim-Aaron's father begins to believe that in reviving his son, he somehow defied the will of God.
In matching the theme of the film, this is a very visceral movie. There are multiple sequences that take place at the father's slaughterhouse, many moments that involve raw meat, and a recurring use of cockroaches. It is a film that is both gorgeous in its black and white image, and disturbing in what it sometimes shows you. I was really shocked to learn that the lead actor was (at the time) a non-professional and that this was his first film. He anchors the film in a strong-yet-subtle way, and the rest of the cast is equally good.
Tikkun, 2015
A young Orthodox Jewish scholar named Haim-Aaron (Aharon Traitel) is at what looks like the beginning of a crisis of self and a crisis of faith. When he has a near-death experience and is revived by his father (Khalifa Natour), the aftermath pushes him even further into alienation from his faith and his family.
A religious person struggling with temptation--and specifically a younger person struggling with lust and the "temptation of the flesh"--is not new ground. This film distinguishes itself at both extremes of representing the theme. On one hand, bringing an incredibly literal meaning by setting many sequences in the slaughterhouse owned by Haim-Aaron's father; on the other hand, incorporating fantasy sequences that consume not only the main character, but also those around him.
Much like how I felt about Merchant of Four Seasons, this film is a jarring vision of someone who no longer belongs in their own life. Haim-Aaron is the kind of personality driven to extremes---we see him using an incredibly tiny pencil and when he accidentally drops his prayer box, he punishes himself with a strict fast. But what happens when someone drawn to extremes reaches a breaking point? Where does that intensity then find an outlet?
At the intersection of lust and denial, a lot of people turn to anger. And in the very specific case of men who are denied (or who deny themselves) access to sex and intimacy, usually the manifestation is anger or even violence toward women. But in this film, the anxiety Haim-Aaron feels mostly turns inward. When it does turn outward, however, it is very disturbing to see, as he has lost his sense of moral and ethical boundaries.
As someone who is not very religious, it can be kind of painful watching such a narrative unfold. Here is a young person who is so bound up in his beliefs that he must agonize over whether or not to touch his own body for pleasure. And he is so conflicted about how to relate to women and his own desire for sex that he is only comfortable seeking out such intimacy from someone who is not a threat and will not bear witness to his "depravity"--ie someone who is incapable of consent. This is not a specific criticism of Judaism, but rather something that I feel I have seen across different religions. The habit of denying natural urges can lead to an implosion or an explosion.
This is a portrait of a person who has fallen almost entirely out of his own being. Haim-Aaron is alienated from his own body, the bodies of women he finds attractive, his faith, and his family. One of the harshest aspects of the film is when Haim-Aaron's father begins to believe that in reviving his son, he somehow defied the will of God.
In matching the theme of the film, this is a very visceral movie. There are multiple sequences that take place at the father's slaughterhouse, many moments that involve raw meat, and a recurring use of cockroaches. It is a film that is both gorgeous in its black and white image, and disturbing in what it sometimes shows you. I was really shocked to learn that the lead actor was (at the time) a non-professional and that this was his first film. He anchors the film in a strong-yet-subtle way, and the rest of the cast is equally good.