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livA weird but interesting Israeli film, I love you, Rosa (1972, written and directed Moshe Mizrachi).
Soghoti_mhic_uait and I have a tradition of trying to find films suitable for Shavuot, though we're probably never going to beat Codependent space lesbian seeks same which has not only lesbians and aliens, but cheesecake as a major plotpoint. A friend of hers recommended I love you Rosa, and the DVD got mislaid among multiple house moves so we couldn't watch it actually on Shavuot, but it turned up again recently so we watched it on a random day.
I love you Rosa is definitely relevant to Shavuot because it's actually about levirate marriage. But it's also a romance where the terrible obstacle the lovers must overcome is that... one of them is twelve. I somehow managed to watch all the way through to the end before seeing the credits and realizing that it was made in the 1970s; I probably should have guessed from the picture quality, the hairstyles and the fact that Moshe Tal plays the romantic lead. I was partly misled because it's set in the late 19th century, but also knowing that it's a product of its era made me feel a bit less grossed out by the extremely age-gap romance. And it's not just that Rosa is an adult, it's that she's in an explicitly parental relationship with Nissim for much of the film, as she adopts him to rescue him from an abusive family.
If you can get past the premise, which admittedly is a big if, it's an interesting film. The take on levirate marriage is that Rosa and Nissim are enjoined to marry by Jewish law, since she is a young widow and Nissim is her deceased husband's only unmarried brother. And they fall in love but want to marry on their own terms not because the law says they have to. Which is all fair enough but it's very difficult to get behind a romance unfolding in the last third when most of the film is about a child. I did like that the film is explicitly about a Sephardi community, and I did like that Jewish law isn't the bad guy, there's a really sweet and understanding rabbi who is really doing his best to make halacha work for real people.
There are some scenes which are a bit random, including a woman accused of adultery and pursued naked through the street, which is just presented with no dialogue whatsoever, let alone any explanation of what she has to do with the story, just an entirely gratuitous scene of violence against an attractive naked woman. Plus some of Nissim's attempts to prove that he's adult enough to marry Rosa are more than a bit gross by modern standards, like visiting a brothel.
So, um, I probably wouldn't entirely recommend ILYR unless you particularly need films about levirate marriage, but there are some really strong performances
In contrast, We are Lady Parts (2021, Nida Manzoor) is a brand-new TV series with a totally awesome premise: some young British Muslim women form a punk band. Hilarity ensues.
I binged We are Lady Parts withjack this week. It's just gorgeous, I almost entirely love it apart from that it sometimes falls into cringe / embarrassment humour. The band and their music seem just plausible enough to suspend disbelief, and it's a brilliant ensemble cast though the two leads, naive PhD student Amina (Anjana Vasan) and angry feminist Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), really stand out.
I love how amazingly English the show is, it is full of context that I recognize and no annoying laugh tracks. And it really skilfully avoids the cliches you might expect from a comedy about women from minority backgrounds doing something unexpected and potentially shocking. It's not about a conflict between ~traditional values~ and modernity, it's about people who are committed, religious Muslims and remain true to themselves; if people disapprove of their music and life choices it's not because they are going against Islam but because they're doing something culturally unexpected and because lots of parents don't understand their young adult children. There's a storyline about a corrupt journalist who tries to sell the band with cliches of how the media often views Muslims, but the whole series is entirely not that. Nobody is a terrorist, nobody is forced into marriage, nobody is not like the other Muslims / other girls. Also the characters all have different ethnic origins and different styles of dress; they seem real, not just stock characters.
There's a bit of a tear-jerker storyline about a dead sister, but what actually made me cry was the finale with the band coming through triumphant to belt out their cover of We are the champions. Also I was really sad that the series was over and there were no more episodes!
I don't know how available it is outside the UK but if you can get hold of it, I totally recommend it. It's 6 x 25 minute episodes so just an evening really. And so adorable.
So
ghoti_mhic_uait and I have a tradition of trying to find films suitable for Shavuot, though we're probably never going to beat Codependent space lesbian seeks same which has not only lesbians and aliens, but cheesecake as a major plotpoint. A friend of hers recommended I love you Rosa, and the DVD got mislaid among multiple house moves so we couldn't watch it actually on Shavuot, but it turned up again recently so we watched it on a random day.I love you Rosa is definitely relevant to Shavuot because it's actually about levirate marriage. But it's also a romance where the terrible obstacle the lovers must overcome is that... one of them is twelve. I somehow managed to watch all the way through to the end before seeing the credits and realizing that it was made in the 1970s; I probably should have guessed from the picture quality, the hairstyles and the fact that Moshe Tal plays the romantic lead. I was partly misled because it's set in the late 19th century, but also knowing that it's a product of its era made me feel a bit less grossed out by the extremely age-gap romance. And it's not just that Rosa is an adult, it's that she's in an explicitly parental relationship with Nissim for much of the film, as she adopts him to rescue him from an abusive family.
If you can get past the premise, which admittedly is a big if, it's an interesting film. The take on levirate marriage is that Rosa and Nissim are enjoined to marry by Jewish law, since she is a young widow and Nissim is her deceased husband's only unmarried brother. And they fall in love but want to marry on their own terms not because the law says they have to. Which is all fair enough but it's very difficult to get behind a romance unfolding in the last third when most of the film is about a child. I did like that the film is explicitly about a Sephardi community, and I did like that Jewish law isn't the bad guy, there's a really sweet and understanding rabbi who is really doing his best to make halacha work for real people.
There are some scenes which are a bit random, including a woman accused of adultery and pursued naked through the street, which is just presented with no dialogue whatsoever, let alone any explanation of what she has to do with the story, just an entirely gratuitous scene of violence against an attractive naked woman. Plus some of Nissim's attempts to prove that he's adult enough to marry Rosa are more than a bit gross by modern standards, like visiting a brothel.
So, um, I probably wouldn't entirely recommend ILYR unless you particularly need films about levirate marriage, but there are some really strong performances
In contrast, We are Lady Parts (2021, Nida Manzoor) is a brand-new TV series with a totally awesome premise: some young British Muslim women form a punk band. Hilarity ensues.
I binged We are Lady Parts with
jack this week. It's just gorgeous, I almost entirely love it apart from that it sometimes falls into cringe / embarrassment humour. The band and their music seem just plausible enough to suspend disbelief, and it's a brilliant ensemble cast though the two leads, naive PhD student Amina (Anjana Vasan) and angry feminist Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), really stand out. I love how amazingly English the show is, it is full of context that I recognize and no annoying laugh tracks. And it really skilfully avoids the cliches you might expect from a comedy about women from minority backgrounds doing something unexpected and potentially shocking. It's not about a conflict between ~traditional values~ and modernity, it's about people who are committed, religious Muslims and remain true to themselves; if people disapprove of their music and life choices it's not because they are going against Islam but because they're doing something culturally unexpected and because lots of parents don't understand their young adult children. There's a storyline about a corrupt journalist who tries to sell the band with cliches of how the media often views Muslims, but the whole series is entirely not that. Nobody is a terrorist, nobody is forced into marriage, nobody is not like the other Muslims / other girls. Also the characters all have different ethnic origins and different styles of dress; they seem real, not just stock characters.
There's a bit of a tear-jerker storyline about a dead sister, but what actually made me cry was the finale with the band coming through triumphant to belt out their cover of We are the champions. Also I was really sad that the series was over and there were no more episodes!
I don't know how available it is outside the UK but if you can get hold of it, I totally recommend it. It's 6 x 25 minute episodes so just an evening really. And so adorable.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 01:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 01:07 pm (UTC)There's also a storyline about her dating life; she really wants to meet someone for a serious relationship leading to marriage, while taking the initiative in choosing a partner herself. She goes on some dates where she makes a bit of a fool of herself because she (understandably!) doesn't know how to make smalltalk with a stranger she's just met yet hopes she might marry one day. There's one extended scene of a rather awkward date, though the narrative is very much sympathetic to both characters. And a montage where she meets a bunch of unsuitable people via a dating app, where the cringe is that the prospective mates don't realize how rude and inappropriate they are. I didn't find any of it too bad, and it's far from the only source of humour.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 11:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 04:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 01:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 11:55 am (UTC)There is a Hallmark movie (not to be confused with a Hallmark Channel movie) about Levirate marriage. "Loving Leah" was based on a play. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dba7E4gwMHQ
We are Lady Parts is available in the US on the Peacock streaming service.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 01:14 pm (UTC)And thank you for finding me another potential Shavuot movie; we're pretty inclusive of anything with Queer women or aliens, but actual Levirate marriage as a plot point is unsurprisingly rare.
And good to know that you can get We are Lady Parts in the US, I want everybody in the world to see it, it's so lovely.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 02:25 pm (UTC)What's your connection between aliens and Shavuos?
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-15 02:31 pm (UTC)Aliens and Shavuot: it's because of
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Date: 2021-07-15 08:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-07-16 05:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-07-31 05:44 pm (UTC)