SACRED
KADOSH



Israel-France, 1999, 110 min, color

After "Devarim", which took place in Tel Aviv, and "Yom Yom", in Haifa, Israeli director Amos Gitai completes his trilogy with "Kadosh", which takes place in Jerusalem. Meir and Rivka have been married for ten years and they love each other very much. However, this is not welcome news for the rabbi of the community. The area they live in is one of the most Orthodox areas of Jerusalem. Rivka's sister Malka has left to join Yaakov, who has already escaped from the pressures of the community. The rabbi declares that to ensure his lineage, Meir must leave Rivka and marry Haya. As for Malka, he has already arranged for her to marry his helper, the faithful Yossef. Rivka moves out of the house and buries herself in her misery, but Malka decides to rebel. Filmed in just a few weeks, the film presents a powerful and provocative message: for women trapped in the traditions of the Orthodox Jewish religion, escape is the only way out. Ironically, the rabbi is played by an Israeli of Arab origin. To capture the women's point of view, Gitai wrote the script with Eliette Abecassis, an Orthodox Jew. The script was refused three times by the Israeli Film Commission for its sensitive subject matter.