Product Description

Naomi, the brilliant and pious daughter of an ultra orthodox rabbi finds herself at a crossroads of life choices when her mother dies and she is expected to immediately marry her father's prodigy. Distressed yet determined, she begs that her father allow her one year to study at a women's religious seminary in Safed, the birthplace of the Kabala in order to prepare herself for the sacrifices she will make as a wife. Her father relents and Naomi's life begins to take an unexpected turn.

Devote but lively, Naomi and her new friend Michelle befriend a beautiful, mysterious older woman, Anouk, (Fanny Ardant) who is ill and living nearby who may or may not be Jewish, and may have committed a crime of passion. Naomi devises a series of rituals which will somehow purify Anouk and purge her of her sins, but as these stretch the borders of Jewish law they must be kept secret. Eventually this journeys into the forbidden and leads to a growing attraction between the two girls and more crossroads are faced.

The Secrets presents the complexities of a religious lifestyle in a vibrant environment of youth, rebellion and desire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15737 in DVD
• Brand: BUKSTEIN,ANIA
• Released on: 2009-04-07
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
• Original language: French, Hebrew
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 127 minutes

Features

• Beautifully evocateive, nominated for 8 Awards of the Isreal Film Academy, "the Secrets" explores the passage into the womanhood of the daughter of an orthodox rabbi finding herself at a crossroads of life. While studying at a women's religious seminary in Safed, Naomi and her new friend explore the complexities of a religious lifestyle in a vibrant environment of youth, rebellion and

Review
3 1/2 Stars. The Secrets is first of all continuously absorbing, which most good films must be. The performances by the three leading actresses are compelling. There's a subplot that's delightful. Avi Nesher's The Secrets, a deeply involving melodrama, has all the devices to draw us into this story. It is gently and powerfully acted. And it is thoughtful about its characters. --Roger Ebert

Review
The Secrets handles itself with Grace and Charm --The Village Voice

Review
One of the most remarkable movies of the year an engrossing mixture of voluptuous spirituality and incisive sensuality --The New York Observer

Customer Reviews

Feminisn and Sexuality in Judaism
"The Secrets"
Feminism and Sexuality in Judaism
Amos Lassen
"The Secrets" is a new Israeli film that looks at both sexuality and feminism in classic Judaism. Naomi, the headstrong daughter of a highly respected Orthodox rabbi, is promised to her father's prized pupil. She neither feels anything for him nor is enthusiastic at the idea of marrying him and she convinces her father to let her go to Safed, one of the four holy cities in Israel and the birthplace of the Kabala, a form of mystical Judaism. She wants to study at a seminary for Jewish women.
While in Safed, she meets Michelle, the daughter of a wealthy secular family now living in France. Her parents have sent her to Israel to re-awaken her faith and to find a Jewish husband. The two women forge a close bond. Once while delivering meals to the poor, they meet Anouk, a non-Jewish foreigner who is dying and has come to Safed to seek divine forgiveness but because of her religion she is alienated by both villagers and religious leaders.
Naomi and Michelle's compassion soon has them engaging their roommates in an attempt to save Anouk from her past through what is known as "tikun" (repair), a series of rigorous, religious cleansing rituals. As the two share the journey to help the dying Anouk, they find long suppressed feelings of love and passion arising from within and these feelings have no place in Orthodox Jewish life.
Both women are forced into making a choice as to whether to conform to what their families, society and religion expect or to remain true to themselves.
"The Secrets" is poignant and touching. The beautiful acting and the brilliant haunting soundtrack of liturgical music make this an incredible viewing experience. The film takes us into a world that is rarely seen in cinema.

An emotionally stirring tale, highly recommended
The Secrets: A Film by Avi Nesher is a multiple award-winning movie about Naomi, the intelligent, faithful, and devoted daughter of an orthodox rabbi who must prepare for difficult choices in her life when her mother dies and she has to marry her father's prodigy. She begs her father for a year to study at a women's religious seminary to prepare for the sacrifices she must make as a wife and mother, and is permitted to do so. She befriends a schoolmate, Michelle, and a sickly older woman, Anouk (played by Fanny Ardant), who might be guilty of a terrible crime of passion. Naomi invents a progression of rituals designed to help Anouk release her sins, a process which brings Naomi and Michelle closer together - close enough to develop a forbidden attraction. An emotionally stirring tale, highly recommended. Special features include a "behind the scenes" video with subtitled actor interviews, deleted scenes, two music videos, and a photo gallery. Rated R, 127 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles.

Extraordinary - One of the Best to Come from Israel
Call it an acquired taste. First of all I am Jewish and I have spent a considerable amount of time studying its religious texts...Thus a film about the process of analyzing scripture or the Talmud is likely to find favor in my eyes whereas others might gravitate towards science fiction or romantic comedy.

I thought "The Secrets" was one of the best dramas to arrive from Israel...but it is not in the mold of a holocaust memory film, a war film, or an exploration of ethnic tensions.

The movie is about personal choices, moral choices, partner choices. Ostensibly it revolves around a story of Noemi, a very bright young woman - a daughter of an important rabbi in the Orthodox community - who asks to study for one more year rather than rush into a marriage dictated by her father,

She first approaches problems as a "know-it-all", and then discovers that others have answers, even to tough religious and moral questions. Through that process, she develops a deep, let's say, intimate relationship with another young woman, Michal, in the Orthodox seminary. But this movie is not really about a same-sex relationship as it it about making choices...some of those choices carry great personal baggage and some of those choices are entirely unorthodox.

All the performances are top notch. Two scenes stick out in my mind. In the first, Noemi is deep in the library analying the Talmud to find a way to help a troubled, mortally sick stranger repair her broken relationship to God. She does so even when the traditional rabbis have all but given up on the stranger. The second scene involves the prospective groom of Michal - a pharmacist who moonlights as a klezmer musician - who reveals great courage (and tolerance) in asking Noemi to come to his upcoming wedding. When he makes that request he knows that Noemi has been intimate with his bride. (How many us, religious or not, orthodox or not, could do that!)

A final remark. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't experience the ending of the film as negative. Just the opposite. In summary, "The Secrets" is not only an excellent movie, it is a meaningful one.