I have written about a number of films dealing with the haredi
(ultra-orthodox) world . Just recently,
I wrote about Fill the Void (Rama Burshtein) and God's Neighbors (Meni Yaesh). Older dramatic films include: Kadosh
(Amos Gitai), Ushpizin (Gidi Dar), Secrets (Avi Nesher),
Eyes Wide Open (Haim Tabakman).
A landmark documentary series is Haredim:
The Ultra-Orthodox Community in Israel, a trilogy by Ron Ofer and
Yochai Hakak, which includes Religion.com and Haredot: The
Rabbi's Daughter and the Midwife.
Some of the dramatic films look at the haredi community
critically, some poking fun, and only Fill the Void looks at the community in a
loving and positive light. The
documentary trilogy is more objective in its portrayal, offering an inside
glimpse at real people and real dilemmas.
From Ron Ofer, the filmmaker of the documentary trilogy, comes another
documentary -- a very personal and very hard-hitting film about life in the haredi community -- from a
totally different perspective and on a totally surprising subject.
Pursued (Menachem Roth and Ron Ofer, documentary, 2012) offers a
compelling story of a man's coming to terms as an adult with the sexual abuse that he
experienced as a student in a haredi yeshiva.
Menachem Roth grew up within the haredi community, studying in a yeshiva, until he decided to turn his back on it, cut his
payes and travel abroad. Now, 35
years-old, he is obsessed with his past and he returns to Israel from Germany
where he had been living, in order to confront the demons of his previous life as a yeshiva bocher in the haredi community.
First stop back in Israel, he visits his loving and charming
Bubby. Then he sets out to create a confrontation with the young man who,
according to Roth, "ruined his life."
Roth was abused sexually when he was 14 years-old, living in a yeshiva
boarding school. Today, more than 20
years later, the man who abused him is a
respected rabbi, married, father of 15. This
is a film which documents their confrontation.
Pursued is available from Ruth Diskin Films
No comments:
Post a Comment