Keren Yedaya's directorial debut is a coming-of-age tale about a young woman who seems doomed to ultimately follow in her mother's unhappy footsteps. Dana Ivgy stars as Or, an attractive teenager with a strong work ethic, who holds down a job at a restaurant and collects cans and bottles for cash while attending school. She's also close to a neighbor's son, who is obviously sweet on her. But Or is concerned about her mother Ruthie (Ronit Elkabetz), who's been a prostitute for years and whose health is now deteriorating, so Or finds her a job as a housecleaner instead. The potential tragedy of the film is twofold, with the danger of Ruthie returning to her old ways and the possibility of Or being drawn inexorably into the same life. An air of ineffable sadness suffuses the film, which depicts the hopelessness of both mother and daughter with honesty and compassion, telling a quietly devastating story with naturalistic restraint. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a half-hour “making of” featurette, mostly composed of behind-the-scenes material shot over the course of filming but ending with footage of Tim Roth presenting Yedaya with the aptly-named Camera d'Or for best first film at the 2004 Cannes Festival, as well as a stills gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a powerful foreign film.] (F. Swietek)
Or, My Treasure
Kino, 100 min., in Hebrew w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Jan. 3 Volume 21, Issue 1
Or, My Treasure
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: