Film reviews: An aching Italian love story and a matchmaking comedy at Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
Beautifully shot The Shadow of the Day captures prewar Italy, while Matchmaking coins the ultra-orthodox rom-com
The Vancouver Jewish Film Festival presents The Shadow of the Day March 19 at 8 pm and Matchmaking at 5:45 pm at the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre; both run online from March 19 to 26
LOVE IS IN the air at this year’s Vancouver Jewish Film Festival, where romance takes both heart-ripping and absurdly funny form.
The standout offering is The Shadow of the Day, a gorgeously shot story of yearning during 1930s Fascist Italy, set in the picturesque historic town of Ascoli Piceno. There, First World War veteran Luciano (Riccardo Scamarcio) watches life go by in the square outside the grand windows of the upscale restaurant where he serves as maître d'. Stoic and a man of few words, he hires a young woman, Anna (Benedetta Porcoroli), who’s hungry and desperate for a job. Little by little, we watch his world-weary Luciano warm to her, even though he suspects she may not be who she says she is. But as El Duche rises to power, and the cafe fills with fascistas, her secrets become dangerous for them both.
Director Giuseppe Piccioni captures this all with beautiful restraint, Scamarcio and Porcoroli handing in compelling performances as the doomed lovers. In a brilliant device, the tables turn on Luciano toward the end, where townsfolk start watching him through the window.
In the end the themes are Casablanca-like: how much are we willing to sacrifice for important causes, and can one can truly be “neutral” when evil forces start to take over society? Elegantly crafted and deeply moving, rich with unsentimental heartache. It’s also a compelling reminder of the anti-Semitism that surged during Italy’s fascist era, and the human suffering it cost.
On the other end of the emotional scale, check out Matchmakers—an unexpectedly funny ultra-Orthodox rom-com.
Young yeshiva student Moti (Amit Rahav) is going through the rituals of Haredi matchmaking, meeting a parade of potential wives in glitzy hotel lobbies. Religiously devout and from a well-off family, he’s considered a catch—yet no one he meets over bottles of water and boring questions piques his interest. But when he spots Nehani (Liana Ayoun), he’s smitten—only to find out she’s Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) and not Ashkenazi (European), which will, and does, send his parents into conniptions.
The film, a polished hit at the box office in Israel, becomes a lighthearted social satire of the not-so-subtle racism that still influences marriage decisions. That's a serious matter—but there are a lot of laughs to be had here, thanks to some of the quirky side characters—including a manic matchmaker and her harried husband. Add the ridiculous lengths that Moti will go to court Nehani, plus mistaken identities and other farcical bits, and you have a comedy that's a lot less, well, orthodox than you'd think.
Matchmaking.
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