This Israeli movie is an oddity for me because I had always associated the Golan-Globus production team with obnoxious action films from the 1980s. You know, the sort of films where there are high body counts and a minimum is placed on dialog and character development. Their Cannon Films brought us such delights as SUPERMAN IV, MISSING IN ACTION I, II and III, KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1985), DEATH WISH III, American NINJA I and II, BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO, HOSPITAL MASSACRE and (ouch) THE APPLE. Clearly, the two film makers are NOT usually mistaken for great artists...though to assume that all their output was of such "less than subtle" fare is also a mistake. Clearly with ANI OHEV OTACH ROSA ("I Love You Rosa") is a beautiful and very subtle film--the antithesis of my assumptions about their film making--a very happy discovery indeed.
The story is set in 19th century Palestine and involves the ancient rule from Deuteronomy that if a husband dies, his brother is obliged to take the widow as his bride and care for her. The problem with this is two-fold in the film. First, by modern times the practice had all but disappeared and was no longer seen as an imperative. Second, in the case of this story, the surviving brother is only about 12 years-old--a bit young for marriage to the adult Rosa.
Now this story could have been handled in an exploitational manner--with the curious and amorous young man struggling with his sexual impulses towards Rosa (who he had come to live with when the film began). However, his infatuation is handled very well--with a slow and deliberate pace that is quite beautiful and believable. This is NOT a May-December sex film like CLASS or MY TUTOR (uggh), but deals with the young man's desires in a realistic manner. He does not, as a mere child, conquer Rosa and it does not become a titillating sex film--it is far, far deeper and more lyrical. However, there is the beginning of love and desire on Rosa's part--but it is handled tastefully and in a decent manner, as both Rosa and Nissim are good people. After all, no normal person would want to see a film that glamorizes sex between a 12 and 22 year-old. However, there is desire and love between them. How can this be handled in a non-exploitational manner and still be a film you could probably let your kids see (even if this film has a bit of nudity)? Well, see the film for yourself.
Because the film has a lovely script, good acting and especially good direction, the slowness of the film can be excused--though those who prefer the Cannon-style films will probably hate this movie. Not surprisingly, it was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. It is a fine film and very rewarding if you are patient and appreciate its pacing and style.
By the way, I agree with the other review that commented about the dubbing. While it was pretty good, this DVD (through Netflix) did not offer the film in subtitles, so you may have to search pretty hard to find it non-dubbed.
