Review of Fill the Void (2012) by Walter M — 06 Jul 2013

In "Fill the Void," Esther(Renana Raz) and Yochay(Yiftach Klein) are on the verge of expecting their first child when they also receive the happy news that Esther's younger sister Shira(Hadas Yaron) has just gotten engaged. And then tragedy strikes as Esther dies in childbirth. In the meantime, Shira and her mother Rivka(Irit Sheleg) help out best they can by taking care of the baby. However, that might not be for much longer as Rivka hears about a marriage proposal for Yochay from a widow in Belgium.

"Fill the Void" is a gently subversive movie about the practice of arranged marriages in the Hasidic community in Israel that succeeds by leaving more things unsaid from its great opening scene in a supermarket to its ambiguous final shot. To be fair, it could be said that the parents only have the best interests of their children at heart but what happens when they don't? For example, Rivka does the wrong thing for the right reasons while Shira does the right thing for the wrong reasons. None of which will matter if everybody is not happy in the long run.