Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open

90 Minutes

Director Haim Tabakman’s full-length feature debut, Eyes Wide Open, is nothing short of the first sign of an incredible filmmaker. An exercise in minimalism in nearly every facet of filmmaking, the film touches on notions of faith, sexuality, community and individuality with never a single histrionic moment, never the forced catharsis of so many dramas. Based on a screenplay by Merav Doster, a deeply Orthodox Jewish neighborhood becomes the setting for confrontations in a society that cannot force itself into shades of grey.

The film begins with Aaron (Zohar Shtrauss), a stoic, deeply devout butcher reopening the shop left closed by his recently deceased father, displaying a Help Wanted sign in his simple, austere place. He’s answered by Ezri (Ran Danker), a seemingly itinerant yeshiva student, who quickly assumes an essential part of his life. As the two grow close, both Aaron’s wife Rivka (Tinkerbell) and the suspicions of the close-knit neighborhood flourish too. And not without reason- Aaron and Ezri, despite initially strong resistance from the former, are involved in a passionate affair, swiftly becoming both emotionally and sexually reliant upon one another. Circumstances grow to confrontations as local Torah students threaten the shop for its supposed moral uncleanness and even the local rabbi becomes involved.

But such a simple description of the plot does not sufficiently describe the emotional heft of Eyes Wide Open. The actors do not gesticulate or broadcast their emotions as would be expected from a movie concerning “forbidden love.” Instead, their conflicts dwell in the wavering spaces between Aaron and Ezri, in the way that Rivka combs her hair with an almost warding gesture. It’s in the way Aaron’s stolid features sometimes soften while singing at Shabbat supper with his children, or the simple displays of daily ritual that tie the lives of the characters together. In Rivka’s sudden unexpected beauty in removing her headscarf, and in Ezri’s aggressive physicality. Tabakman’s direction is simple and unforced, rarely wavering from a fixed, mid-level shot; the refusal to cut to expected reaction shots and emotionally charged perspectives is effective through its lack of manipulation. When a gentle tracking shot, undercut by the sounds of hoarse passion, is finally used, it nearly seems like a dream.

The level of restraint in the primary three actors in Eyes Wide Open cannot be overemphasized. Danker, a heartthrob actor and singer in Israel, imbues Ezri with a kind of aggravated, defensive vulnerability, a knowledge of his own lack of proper place in the Orthodox community. Conversely, Tinkerbell’s Rivka is a model of warm propriety and givingness, her gentleness never seeming like forgiveness for the questionable actions of the neighborhood. Both act as poles to Aaron, the vibrancy and physicality of Ezri against the care and devotion of Rivka; perhaps it’s the contrast between these two that gives his character such depth. But more than likely, it’s Shtrauss’ incredible performance, the starkness of his character seeming both more and less than human. He’s the kind of man that can sit without flinching as rocks smash his shop’s windows, and yet describe unutterable sorrow through simply the cast of his shoulders.

I could find faults with the film. The subtitling sometimes seems subtly off, lines of dialogue appearing out of sync with the lettering or apparently skipped entirely (most commonly during the several scenes of Torah discussion). Some of the more esoteric aspects of Orthodox life are not given the explanation that a more padded film would; there are no scenes describing the necessities of a kosher butcher or the origins of ritual immersion. But those are petty complaints- neither are necessary for a film of such incredible emotion and fine construction. Eyes Wide Open is a film that doesn’t need to pander or explain itself. It’s a film that is simply beautiful.

by Nathan Kamal