Late Marriage

REVIEW
Zaza is a 31-year-old Doctor of Philosophy student at Tel Aviv University. He contemplates the nature of existence and lives a comfortable lifestyle on his daddy's credit card. His parents, in despair of his unmarried status, have entered full court press mode, seeking the efforts of a matchmaker and enlisting the support of the extended family to find a suitable mate for their handsome, Peter Pan-syndrome son. Zaza goes through the motions of the matchmaking process, enduring awkward meeting after awkward meeting, dragging his feet while making minimal acquiescence to his family's demands. At the end of another evening of meeting young women and their anxious families, he returns to the arms of the ravishingly beautiful Judith, his longtime girlfriend, who is divorced with children and three years older than Zaza, all of which removes her from consideration in the Zaza marriage sweepstakes in the eyes of his family. Ashkenazi and Elkabetz smolder on screen as the star-crossed Zaza and Judith; but their passionate attraction and shared ardor meet fierce resistance of surprising strength from the bonds of tradition and familial expectation. The ensemble performances are strong and naturalistic, and accessible enough to aid the viewer in understanding alien behaviors and unfamiliar motivations. Late Marriage is intriguing, involving and in many ways disturbing; it's intelligent and rewards the viewer's attention even as it confronts our 21st-century preconceptions. (Georgian and Hebrew with English subtitles)