Disobedience (2017)

July 22, 2018 5:59 AM

A woman returns to her Orthodox Jewish community that shunned her for her attraction to a female childhood friend. Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality.
posted by ellieBOA (2 comments total)

Oh I had such powerful and mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I loved the autumnal/wintry mood, the actresses' amazing faces (especially Rachel Weisz') with emotions blowing through them like wet leaves, the ambiguous but moving ending, the fact that Dovid is a more complex and rewarding figure than he needed to be. On the other hand, I wish that the film had really explored the women's faith in the way that it explored Dovid's. It's all about religion, and yet we don't even know if either of them believes in God. We don't know whether their faith is solely a burden, or if it provides real complexity and consolation and intellectual force in their lives. I wouldn't want it to be a film about the conflict between religious belief and bodily/emotional desire; part of what makes the story interesting, and sexy, is that both characters are mature enough to have resolved that question already. These are people who know what they want, and whose problem now is how to live with the social consequences. But I wish it had engaged more deeply with the life Esti has led, rather than just being about her escape from it.
posted by thesmallmachine at 9:32 AM on July 22, 2018 [3 favorites]

Any idea which specific orthodox jewish community this film takes place in?
posted by jouke at 9:25 AM on December 13, 2018