The Longings of Maya Gordon

Amsterdam artist Maya Gordon makes art that reminds her of home ("that longing for something you don’t even know what it is"). One piece, a giant cupboard, represents something that loomed over her as a 6-year-old living in Poland (she and her family emigrated to Israel in 1957). Her work can reflect the food that she ate under Communist rule, her process for preparing herring, her changing face (particularly after a thyroid condition altered her eyes), and her propensity for picking up men. Spending time in Israel, Poland, and Holland, co-directors Yair Lev and Etty Wieseltier follow Gordon around as she prepares for exhibits, socializes with friends, and chats with people she meets along the way, such as a philosophical fishmonger who notes that "just as there are no fish without bones, there are no people without troubles." Gordon is a curious, open-hearted person who says exactly what’s on her mind. To Nahum, a former soldier she meets in her old neighborhood, she describes herself as "Victoria Maya," explaining that, "my mother felt the need to produce Jews" after the May victory over Hitler. She also recalls her relationship with Hezy Leskly, an Israeli artist and poet who led her to Holland. Leskly later returned to Israel, where he died, but left Gordon everything, securing her financial future. In many ways, this observational documentary prioritizes Gordon’s life over her art, and it’s stronger for it, offering a vivid portrait of a single 72-year-old woman living her life to the fullest. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)