DIRECTOR: AYELET MENAHEMI
STARRING: REYMONDE AMSALLEM, TIKVA DAYAN, ELEANOR SELA, RIVKA BAHAR, ERAN MOR
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 48 MINUTES
Marie was just two years old when her mother gifted her to her infertile sister, a common Moroccan custom at the time. 40 years later, Marie travels from France to Israel, where her family now lives, to marry her one true love.
STARRING: REYMONDE AMSALLEM, TIKVA DAYAN, ELEANOR SELA, RIVKA BAHAR, ERAN MOR
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 48 MINUTES
Marie was just two years old when her mother gifted her to her infertile sister, a common Moroccan custom at the time. 40 years later, Marie travels from France to Israel, where her family now lives, to marry her one true love.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
“If we walk out that door, the problems won’t stay here.”
Seven Blessings is the International Feature submission for Israel. The film is about Marie, who has been living in France for years and has created a successful life there, including finding love. She has come home to Israel to marry her French-Jewish fiancé, Dan. She hasn’t seen her Moroccan-Israeli family for over 10 years. The wedding is beautiful, extravagant, and everyone appears to be happy, but something just isn’t right.
The wedding is followed by Seven Blessings. These blessings are celebratory meals, honouring the bride for every night of the week. Different family members host the happily married couple preparing lavish dinners. Marie’s brother hosts the first night. The next day Marie’s mother, then her sister, then her other sister, and so on, until seven dinners have been blessed. As the days go by, there are moments of joy, but they are also overshadowed by a tense, usually angry conversations about the past. The reason being, is that Marie was given away as a two-year old to her aunt, ripping her apart from the home she knew and away from her siblings.
During this time in Morocco, barren mothers were frequently given children by other family members, like a sister, as a way of preventing the husband from asking for a divorce. Not being able to conceive was frowned upon and so having children was almost a necessity. Marie’s mother, already feeling overwhelmed by having six children, thought that giving away her daughter, to her sister, was in a way helping them both.
This formidable ensemble of actors in the film showcase the psychological trauma that was caused due to this decision. It’s heartbreaking to see Marie listen to stories of her sibling’s childhood. The missed memories she lost. The feeling of loneliness and not fitting in with the family. The decision to leave everyone and everything behind to start a new life in a foreign country.
We have the choice to walk this Earth dressed in layers of anger or guilt. We also have the choice to dress ourselves in garments of freedom and to find forgiveness within. As the seven blessings go, may we all find love, a loving home, humour, and wisdom, health, beauty and a sense of community. For all the children who were given away, may they find peace, may they forgive, and may they write a new chapter in their lives of healing and happiness with their re-found families.
REVIEW: A-
(This review contains spoilers.)
“If we walk out that door, the problems won’t stay here.”
Seven Blessings is the International Feature submission for Israel. The film is about Marie, who has been living in France for years and has created a successful life there, including finding love. She has come home to Israel to marry her French-Jewish fiancé, Dan. She hasn’t seen her Moroccan-Israeli family for over 10 years. The wedding is beautiful, extravagant, and everyone appears to be happy, but something just isn’t right.
The wedding is followed by Seven Blessings. These blessings are celebratory meals, honouring the bride for every night of the week. Different family members host the happily married couple preparing lavish dinners. Marie’s brother hosts the first night. The next day Marie’s mother, then her sister, then her other sister, and so on, until seven dinners have been blessed. As the days go by, there are moments of joy, but they are also overshadowed by a tense, usually angry conversations about the past. The reason being, is that Marie was given away as a two-year old to her aunt, ripping her apart from the home she knew and away from her siblings.
During this time in Morocco, barren mothers were frequently given children by other family members, like a sister, as a way of preventing the husband from asking for a divorce. Not being able to conceive was frowned upon and so having children was almost a necessity. Marie’s mother, already feeling overwhelmed by having six children, thought that giving away her daughter, to her sister, was in a way helping them both.
This formidable ensemble of actors in the film showcase the psychological trauma that was caused due to this decision. It’s heartbreaking to see Marie listen to stories of her sibling’s childhood. The missed memories she lost. The feeling of loneliness and not fitting in with the family. The decision to leave everyone and everything behind to start a new life in a foreign country.
We have the choice to walk this Earth dressed in layers of anger or guilt. We also have the choice to dress ourselves in garments of freedom and to find forgiveness within. As the seven blessings go, may we all find love, a loving home, humour, and wisdom, health, beauty and a sense of community. For all the children who were given away, may they find peace, may they forgive, and may they write a new chapter in their lives of healing and happiness with their re-found families.
REVIEW: A-
