While not very heavy on the script, this is a very well made movie. I wish the screenplay was a bit better because just about everything else is quite good. What was particularly disappointing to me was the fact that Thomas's thought process wasn't depicted at all in any way. The viewers were shut out from the protagonist's mind. Though this tactic may work for some movies, it didn't work very well here. This problem was particularly glaring because Thomas's reason for going to Israel & his feelings for his lover's wife were quite ambiguous. Was he just using her to get some closure or did he genuinely feel affection for her? His treatment of her was shabby at best.
One can't help but wish that Anat was a stronger character. At one point, I felt sorry for her because the man who had replaced her in her husband's affections had entered her life without having the decency to come clean! In such a situation, anyone would feel used. She sure had the right to be in the know! Imagine her confusion when she realized that the man she had slept with was her husband's lover! Even worse, she couldn't have known whether Thomas became intimate with her because he wanted her or her dead husband (who by the way had decided to leave her for Thomas)! And even after all that she spends so much money to go visit Thomas in Germany when she's clearly struggling financially. I so wish she was a bit more gutsy & didn't indulge in so much self-sabotage.
Also, what was the deal with the cafe losing its Kosher status?
However, its deficiencies aside, the clever use of irony wherein both the protagonists end up being responsible for the other one losing the love of their life wasn't lost to this reviewer.
One can't help but wish that Anat was a stronger character. At one point, I felt sorry for her because the man who had replaced her in her husband's affections had entered her life without having the decency to come clean! In such a situation, anyone would feel used. She sure had the right to be in the know! Imagine her confusion when she realized that the man she had slept with was her husband's lover! Even worse, she couldn't have known whether Thomas became intimate with her because he wanted her or her dead husband (who by the way had decided to leave her for Thomas)! And even after all that she spends so much money to go visit Thomas in Germany when she's clearly struggling financially. I so wish she was a bit more gutsy & didn't indulge in so much self-sabotage.
Also, what was the deal with the cafe losing its Kosher status?
However, its deficiencies aside, the clever use of irony wherein both the protagonists end up being responsible for the other one losing the love of their life wasn't lost to this reviewer.