fill void fill void hebrew israeli drama film written directed focuses life jewish community israel stars year old girl pressured marry older sister husband following death sister film required lengthy production period taking year casting completed year months editing doubtful process completed took step step approach focusing writing accumulating funding project followed filming editing orthodox jewish woman direct film intended wide distribution film premiered venice film festival september later released united_states fill void received critics depiction orthodox jews lifestyle won seven lead actress won best actress portrayal venice film festival plot year old girl living looking forward arranged marriage young man likes family suffers tragedy older sister dies father subsequently delays engagement deal house soon death husband begins regularly bring son house cares day mother approaches mother possibility believing best plans suggest offer widow belgium distraught idea taken country suggests marry instead initially oppose prospect eventually agrees consideration learning previous engagement called father delays shortly friend received marriage proposals tells preferred marry event death result tells suitable takes remain distant announces plans marry widow belgium pressured family agrees forward engagement believing best scenario realizes acting family refuses marriage time passes eventually grows love accord approaches asks married agrees time film closes wedding cast israeli production writing themes fill void written directed course production orthodox jewish woman direct film intended viewed outside orthodox community hoped create greater understanding orthodox community common women forced arranged marriages despite differences structure woman given final marries deliberately avoided depicting divide religious secular jews theme commonly appears films orthodox explained people thousands years old exist conflict secular religious truth want leave communities films trying outside trying important exist feel love struggle hurt conflict director notes wrote love romantic intelligent humor parallel obvious fill void takes place world rules rigid clear characters looking way burst world instead trying find way live critics noted similarities characters fill void washington_post likened character pride prejudice like charlotte marriage prospects subject pity result merry suggested regardless cultural differences story universal themes loss family loyalty mention realization life align expectations boston_globe correspondent agreed themes love loss self sacrifice self preservation applicable audiences outside orthodox community editor surprised state grace featured prominently fill void uncommon concept jewish movies casting casting film took year complete largely according didn know wanted initially considered regular people background acting realizing non actors couldn handle characters israeli actress aged cast role protagonist film commented character special like going basics unfamiliar orthodox practice prior participating fill void order better acquainted lifestyle started hebrew saying beautiful grateful time hoping works okay started day sounds silly helps feel closer character cast act alongside remarked big star israel played homosexual cop roles sure believe orthodox guy audition chemistry perfect additional cast members include aunt main cast orthodox community instructed attend major events place film including wedding commented wedding intense bride crying felt like sister going like helpful experience things feel actually costumes oversaw costume design film low budget spent clothing worn actors designed soft colorful style dress including heavy attire worn males modest dresses head worn females filming found creating believable relationship challenging aspects production hoped relationship enigmatic strong tension film method ensuring actors touched filming explained power wanting power passion exist time passion don work passion judaism considered including scene kissed halfway movie decided believing energy lost acted role romance certain points found difficult portray emotions character felt interacting assisted conveying audience marriage lead characters eventually place frequently sunlight scenes general designed visual effects fill void create view point blurred backgrounds utilized focus faces characters long takes shot interior perspective cameras short range lenses limited camera movements maintain effect explained illustrate heart colorful small human beings fragments big picture god sees thing documentary feel retained film duration style switched wedding scene create atmosphere similar productions film relied requiring actors read lines number scenes sentiments understated avoided having characters break openly angry pressured described scene favorite saying think pain touches people feel try hide following completion filming continued edit footage year months declared complete music composed music played fill void chose primarily melodic traditional pieces frequently film soundtrack composed largely contemporary orthodox pop music prayers regularly spoken song hebrew forget thee jerusalem features prominently film playing major events funeral wedding version song derived excerpt expresses jewish people exile following conquest jerusalem bce forget jerusalem let right hand let tongue stick cease think jerusalem memory hour frequently shown playing know play described difficult instrument stated noise scene like tried play melody ugly weird stuff switch button head like don listen feel feeling took beginning aware playing horrible melody melody knew feel took takes thought crew listen cinematographer took ignore moment reception box office released israel september fill void grossed opening weekend appeared theaters average theater ranking country film week release appeared theaters reached figure total domestic gross later released united_states grossing worldwide critical reviews fill void received generally positive reviews garnering fresh rating based reviews review aggregator website rotten_tomatoes consensus states graceful complex beautifully layered offers sympathetic portrait culture exploring universal themes critics compared female characters novels editor don know seen film perfect tone taste fill void isn moment goes wrong goes melodramatic goes goes false working woman faith medium looked suspicion skepticism believe work art overwhelming beauty impact new_york_post critic disagreed writing social nicely realized parts drama cuts scene prematurely away crucial moment emotion confrontation appears boston_globe correspondent gave film highly favorable review films tend confirm confront stereotypes israeli director acted shot nuanced fill void melodrama set ultra orthodox jewish community bringing life complex sympathetic characters precisely observed setting social framework presenting isolated world achieved gripping film victims villains ambiguous tragedy drawing universal themes love loss self sacrifice self preservation hollywood reporter published good review adding realistic beautiful story calls trouble poetry scene review slant_magazine equally positive adding film long static takes restricting shots largely interiors strategically alternating depth staging backgrounds brings sense world israeli judaism broadly suggested director perfect bubble long contact world outside secular presence allowed additionally critics praised respect shown film portrayal orthodox jews new_york_times suggested film deliver message odds contemporary feminism eyes critics movie portrays female characters strength subtle believable new_york_times added routines dominated prayer ritual obedience jewish law world narrow contrary times feeling significance scott commended acting saying modest sensible opinions expressing emotion way features way cinematographer offer direct access soul likewise los_angeles_times film critic found performance exceptional contrast disliked idea marrying circumstances film wrote comes battered mother potential husband slow wisdom marrying awards film won seven israeli equivalent american including best director best film selected compete golden lion award venice international film festival won cup best actress september film selected israeli entry best foreign language oscar academy awards final
Fill the Void