Storyline
When Eyal finishes the week of mourning for his late son, his wife urges him to return to their routine but instead he gets high with a young neighbor and sets out to discover that there are still things in his life worth living for.
"A week and a Day" is Asaph Polonsky's first feature film and tries to
combine drama with humour, levity and death. It does so successfully
and warmed the crowd in Montreal where it received deserved praise. It
deals with a tough subject, arguably the greatest loss, done slightly
better and with more bitterness in 2001 with "In the Bedroom" and
"Lantana". "Rabbit Hole" (2010) was also riveting, but "A week and a
Day" (2016) is superior to more recent, yet good and critically
acclaimed "The Broken Circle Breakdown" (2012) and very different than
all the others and succeeds in a change of perspective and cinematic
catharsis.
An only child has died from cancer and the parents sit Shiva when the
neighbours come to express their wishes. The mother and father react
differently in their grieving process and the neighours and their son
come to be an important part of a difficult road back to the light.
Quirky and endearing, this tale, like its characters, matures from off
beat to the right beat. The last 20 minutes are sublime and include an
eulogy with effective editing. This eulogy as I would later learn
asking a question to the director during the Q&A is a modified version
of Polonsky's real father who wrote it for his sister and is very
poignant and the center of the movie even if it comes very late. It is
worth the wait and the voyage. As for the eccentric neighbour's son who
knew the deceased and played together as youth and a little girl cancer
patient who knew him in his dying days, their love for life and
imagination make for two memorable scenes of air guitar playing and
phantom operation…
All the characters create the mosaic of life to be cherished instead of
remaining miserable, malcontent and bitter. Even the mom who's dentist
appointment is the saddest one has ever experienced finds joy and
solace in herself and the arms of her husband who loves her and
forgives himself.
Very poignant and effective film-making here. I wish the best to this
young writer/director who should shoot his next feature in Canada's
West Coast if all goes well.
Israel 2016| 98 min | Festival du Nouveau Cinema | Hebrew (English
subtitles)
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