The Other Story
Witty drama about the difficulties a secular Jewish family has in coming to terms with their ultra-orthodox daughter’s wish to marry her previously ‘bad boy’ musician.
Two rebellious young women, one fleeing the chaos of secular hedonism for the disciplined comforts of faith, the other desperate to transcend her oppressive religious upbringing for sexual and spiritual freedom, cross paths unexpectedly in Jerusalem – with startling consequences – in this empowering drama from veteran Israeli director Avi Nesher. His latest film is an intricate web of desperate parents, rebellious children, and spouses locked in conflict.
Having long ago resettled in the US, Yonatan returns to Israel at the behest of his elderly father, Shlomo, an avowed atheist. Shlomo is determined to stop Yonatan’s newly religious daughter, Anat, from marrying Shahar, a popular singer who has recently swapped his infamously libertine persona for that of a devoted Hasid. Meanwhile, Shlomo enlists the help of both Yonatan and Anat in a challenging case at his marriage-counselling practice, in which two parents are fighting ferociously for custody of their child. As the case becomes more complex, the paths of both these troubled families begin to tangle in unexpected ways.