When a death occurs, a void is left in the survivors’ lives. But although the death in this film looms over all, it is not necessarily the void that needs so badly to be filled by each person in this Israeli film (with subtitles), Fill the Void. Instead, each of the primary family members has his or her own void in life, mostly springing from deeper desires that might be about ideals rather than reality. With those desires, each struggles—mostly based on competing interests with each other—to move through and past.
I loved this film for showing a glimpse into the life of an Orthodox, Hasidic Jewish community, where family, tradition, and religion are all important to everyone involved and where celebrations of life abound. Of course, looking into another culture means I had to be careful not to judge based on my views or beliefs, understanding instead that one’s approach to life is not necessarily better or worse, just different.
That said, I still found melancholy in much of how things play out, or, more importantly, why they seemed to. But this wonderful ensemble that makes up the cast allowed me even so to set that aside and also find delight in watching characters grow and share genuine love and joy for one another at times. Then again, that can be the lives that exist in any culture.