In a Horror Film, Tikkun' Shows Its Dark Side

Things get really strange when [Haim-Aaron] slips in the shower and nearly dies. In fact, he does die, but is revived by his father after the paramedics have given up. Despite this miraculous event, all is not well. After the accident, Haim-Aaron stops eating meat, telling his mother that "you...

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Published inForward (New York, N.Y.)
Main Author Glinter, Ezra
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y The Forward Association, Inc 17.06.2016
Subjects
Blich, Riki
Motion pictures
Natour, Khalifa
Sheinberg, Gur
Sivan, Avishai
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Summary:Things get really strange when [Haim-Aaron] slips in the shower and nearly dies. In fact, he does die, but is revived by his father after the paramedics have given up. Despite this miraculous event, all is not well. After the accident, Haim-Aaron stops eating meat, telling his mother that "you have to respect the dead." He discovers that for some reason he no longer needs his glasses. When Haim-Aaron gets home from the hospital, his father tells him, "you should be happy," but Haim-Aaron has tears in his eyes. Such images, together with the movie's stark black-and-white cinematography, are reminiscent of movies like Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" or David Lynch's "Eraserhead," and put "Tikkun" squarely in horror movie territory. Yet [Avishai Sivan], who won awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival and elsewhere for the film, retains an iron grip throughout. Rather than let the movie slip into full-on freak-out mode, he ratchets up the pressure with torturous slowness, exhibiting an extraordinary level of control. Is this really Haim-Aaron's destiny, to perform a tikkun through his errant ways, or is he just a lost soul stuck in a place it doesn't belong? As the movie approaches its climax, the answer to this question becomes more and more cryptic, and the imagery more and more surreal. Whatever miraculous mission Haim-Aaron might have possessed seems to dissipate in the thick fog that envelopes one of the last - and most disturbing - scenes. And in the end, we're presented not so much with a resolution as with relief. As Haim-Aaron's father tells him, "I'm always amazed by the gentleness of a bed, to fall asleep, dream..." In this troubled world, perhaps that's the greatest tikkun we can hope for.
ISSN:1051-340X