Eyes Wide Open

PëRMBLEDHJE

The life of a husband and father in an Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem is turned upside down by homosexual passion in this intimate Israeli drama. Aaron (Zohar Strauss) is a butcher known by family and colleagues alike as a righteous man, and it's initially out of charity that he gives handsome stray Ezri (Ran Danker) a job and a room above his shop. But before long, Aaron is giving in to the temptation of long-suppressed gay desires, and in such a close-knit community there's no place to hide. A controversial film owing to its particular combination of subject matter and milieu, Haim Tabakman's directorial debut is also a very clear-headed one, respectful to the community's spiritual life and traditions yet never trivialising the feelings that swamp its central character. Arguably the approach is too low-key for the audience to share the heat of passion, but the film's urgent point about the need for understanding is made with dignity and an appreciable tinge of sorrow.