MOUNTAIN
DISCOVERY D: Yaelle Kayam. Israel/Denmark. 83 min. Sep 12, 5:15 pm TIFF Bell Lightbox 3 Sep 16, 9 pm Scotiabank 2 Sep 20, 9:30 pm TIFF Bell Lightbox 3. See listings. Rating: NNNN
Kayam is a talent to watch out for.
Her beautiful debut is an honest, sensitive and tragic portrait of a nameless Orthodox Jewish woman quietly pushing back against isolation.
Shani Klein delivers an astonishing performance as a woman whose devotion is matched by her passion. Her husband, an emotionally distant workaholic, along with their kids, takes the matriarch for granted. They live in a house nestled next to a cemetery on the Mount of Olives, a stunning location where tourists and mourners visit during the day while pimps lurk at night.
The protagonists’ attempts to make the most of these surroundings and find some human connection begin comical and absurdly sweet before slowly veering off into something dark.