Search - Or, My Treasure on DVD

Like "Nobody Knows," this is another powerful and realistic

Gary Cabana | NYC, USA | 03/01/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Amazingly realistic story that starts out as a grim but heartening story of a young girl's attempt to reform her lazy mother. Having just left the hospital, 'Ruthie' (the mother) wiggles into her hot pants and prepares to go back to turning tricks no the street.

Ruthie is too old to get a 'regular' job in a proper brothel and her street customers frequently give her physical violence in lieu of a tip. These are more than enough reasons for teen daughter 'Or' to step and 'play' parent by locking her mother inside the apartment and forcing mom to start a new job as a cleaning lady.

Both actresses give compelling performances but the more 'Or' does for Ruthie the more she realizes that the 'apple doesn't fall far from the tree' in terms of seeing the opportunities that prostitution can offer a young woman when the alternative is working long hours as a pot scrubber in a restaurant.

This is not a formula movie like "thirteen" and has both humor and poignancy galore. Check it out!!!

Note: Adults only, strong language and nudity
"

Ronit Elkabetz and Dana Ivgy excel in this heartbreaking tal

Andy Orrock | Dallas, TX | 10/04/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a huge fan of Ronit Elkabetz, having seen her excellent work most recently in The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret). One of my favorite movies is Late Marriage (Hatuna Meuheret). She appears brilliantly there, too, as Lior Ashkenazi's love interest, heartbreakingly shunned by his family. In her homeland, Ms. Elkabetz's signature role is that of downtrodden, sickly prostitute Ruthie in this look at Tel Aviv's seamy side from director Keren Yedaya.

As outstanding as Elkabetz is here, this is Dana Ivgy's movie. She portrays Ruthie's daughter 'Or'. The review on these pages that nailed it is the one comparing this movie to the Japanese release Nobody Knows - these are two works in which the children are forced in a hurry to become adults. And, with Ruthie as a role model, you can pretty much guess Or's career path.

Ivgy - an Israeli beauty in the Aya Koren mold - also appeared indelibly in Broken Wings (Knafayim Shvurot), a movie that appears near the top of my growing list of recommendations for great Israeli cinema. This is a country that punches way above its weight when it comes to the quality of its movies.

Now, my list of "gotta see" Israeli films look like this (in approximate order of my relative enthusiasm):

1. Walk on Water
2. The Syrian Bride
3. Broken Wings
4. The Band's Visit
5. Late Marriage
6. Time of Favor
7. Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi
8. Yossi & Jagger
9. The Bubble
10. Jellyfish (Meduzot)
11. Or, My Treasure
12. Nina's Tragedies
13. Yana's Friends

[NOTE: Amazon limits me to 10 product links per review...sorry about that.]"