Juliano Mer-Khamis

Quote:
Ahasverus, king of Persia and Media, puts aside Vashti and makes Esther his queen, choosing her among maidens in a kingdom stretching from India to Ethiopia. Esther, using information from Mordecai, her uncle and patron, saves the king from assassination. Haman, the king’s favorite, is miffed when Mordecai won’t bow to him, so he orders death to all Jews in the kingdom, under the seal of the king. Esther pleads for her people, and Mordecai is in turn given license to make his own edict under the king’s seal. Mordecai loses sight of his original intention, and bloody murder ensues. Purim annually celebrates the story. At the end of the film, the actors comment.Read More »

Quote:
A slice of life – day after day – in Haifa, where Moshe and Didi’s marriage is on the rocks, affairs are casual, and Moshe’s angst about health, his parents, sex, communication, and business are pervasive and existential. Moshe’s mother is Jewish, his father an Arab; his father may or may not sell ancestral land; his wife and mistress have lovers, one is a close friend; much of Moshe’s surroundings seem under construction or in renovation. A cousin watches a security monitor without comment. Is there allegory in this portrait of an anxious Israeli approaching middle age?Read More »