Late Marriage

Winner of 10 Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Director, this devastating, harsh comedy--one of several recent efforts, including Kadosh, the Iranian film Leila, and the Indian film Fire, that critique orthodox custom--is a darker male version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Lior Ashkenazi stars as Zaza, a 31-year-old bachelor who still lives at home. His parents despair over the fact that not only is Zaza unmarried, he also rejects the prospects brought forward by a marriage broker. When they find out that he is engaged in an affair with an older woman, who is Moroccan, divorced and has a child, no less, they are outraged at this breach of their orthodox Georgian tradition, and conspire to break the couple apart. The film's set piece is a prolonged and naturalistic sex scene that conveys the depths of this illicit relationship, making what follows--a jaw-dropping sequence in which Zaza's family storms the woman's apartment--all the more painful. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)