While the cover of the film features a kissing photo of the pair of Rachels, the film expresses a broader disobedience. The three protagonists Ronit, Esti and Dovid in the movie are all obedient, awakened and resisted. As Rachel Weisz said in an interview: It's all about obedience and disobedience.
Thanks to the Beijing International Film Festival for giving me the opportunity to watch this film that will not be fully released in China without going abroad. The first one was in Sanlitun's Meijia Happy Cinema, and the theater changed the seat cover to rainbow color.
Although the cover of the film is a kissing photo of the pair of Rachels, the film expresses a wider disobedience, and the relationship between Ronit and Esti is the trigger for everything that follows. The three protagonists Ronit, Esti and Dovid in the movie are all obedient, awakened and resisted. As Rachel Weisz said in an interview: It's all about obedience and disobedience.
Ronit
Ronit left the gated community for the United States before his father died. From the plot behind, it should be that she and Esti's little secret was discovered by her father (the leader of community Judaism) and left without saying goodbye. In the gated community, the story of her and Esti spread widely, something traditional Jewish communities could not bear. Even if her father died, no one wanted to tell her to come back, and the newspaper prophecy stated that her father had no children. When Ronit was alone with Esti, Ronit repeatedly asked Esti if she wasn't welcome back and if she should leave. In fact, she is still a child at heart, afraid of the censure and disgust of her relatives and lovers.
For Ronit, her disobedience may have been to leave the country and change her name (the cameraman's pseudonym). After arriving in New York, she sealed the affairs of her hometown in a box and did not open it. But when he returned to his hometown, the box opened again, allowing him to face everything he had escaped. The love in Esti and Dovid's family and religious interpretation finally allowed him to grow up and face everything bravely.
On the way to the airport at the end of the film, she took a detour to her father's cemetery, and for the first and last time, took a picture for his father to make up for her regret.
Esti
Esti's characterization is close to the masses, she lives in the Jewish community, falls in love with girls and gets exposed, stays in the community, and marries Dovid (Ronit's cousin) who Ronit's father thinks suits her. She is a person who is submissive on the surface, turbulent on the inside, doesn't know how to express herself, and pursues the freedom she wants step by step. She kissed Ronit for the first time under the big tree on the lawn; she told Ronit that her father had passed away and hoped to see her again; she was a teacher at a girls' school, hoping to educate and inspire children. Maybe she didn't plan for all, she just follow her heart. Even though she didn't leave the gated Jewish community, she was still doing her own thing, trying to change herself and the next generation.
The film details Esti from awakening to defiance. In the beginning, she obeyed her elders, married the so-called Dovid who was right for her, and lived the life of a traditional Jewish wife, with wigs, clothing and even regular weekly sex. Ronit's father died and she contacted Ronit even when no one contacted Ronit because she wanted to see Ronit. Ronit then returns to his hometown, although Esti still has regular sex with Dovid, and even at non-regular times, Esti tries to save him by kissing Dovid. But as long as she made eye contact with Ronit, she knew what was in her heart. In Ronit's father's house, Esti kisses Ronit proactively, and the romance that ended abruptly in adolescence burns like a fire. They fled the community to find themselves. The bed scene in the hotel is simple and rough and not soft, but it can reflect the tension of meeting them again after being forcibly stagnant for many years.
When they got home again, Esti wasn't the Esti anymore. She confessed to Dovid that she took the initiative to kiss Ronit. When Dovid couldn't hold back her rant, she said loudly and firmly: It has always been this way with me. No other way. I think I will never be any different than this. She has gradually become her own little hero. When she found out she was pregnant, she asked Dovid to give her free, hoping to give her child a free living environment.
Esti's disobedience is that he still pursues his inner voice in the Jewish community. From the initial swaying, to the final pregnancy and still choosing to leave, this is what a forbearing and strong woman looks like in my heart. She walks on the life path of her choice in the step-by-step self-knowledge.
Dovid
Although the publicity of the movie and everyone's attention is on the relationship between the two girls, the role of Dovid cannot be ignored. As a child who grew up under traditional Jewish teachings, he studied at the side of Jewish leaders at the age of twelve or thirteen, and lived a traditional and peaceful life. The three of them played together when they were children, and when Ronit left, they became two people walking together, and then became husband and wife. He is a kind, tolerant person who wants to change Esti. When Ronit returns, Esti's increasingly apparent relationship with her makes Dovid doubt himself.
At the memorial service, Dovid broke out and he spoke about the freedom that Ronit's dad had mentioned before his death, and in front of everyone, gave Esti freedom, and stressed that everyone is free. As a husband, he deserves respect for letting go when he should.
For Dovid, his disobedience came from a rebellion against traditional Judaism. Contrary to conventional thinking, he eventually embraces gender-neutral love.
ending
Esti finally rushes to the taxi driver to kiss Ronit, who says "I love you" tearfully. Esti didn't follow Ronit to New York and didn't live with Dovid.
They all continue to live in the world in their own way.
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