Kadosh

1999
15
1h 50m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Two sisters become victims of the patriarchal, ultra-orthodox society.Two sisters become victims of the patriarchal, ultra-orthodox society.Two sisters become victims of the patriarchal, ultra-orthodox society.

Director
- Amos Gitai
Writers
- Eliette Abecassis
- Amos Gitai
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Amos Gitai
Writers
- Eliette Abecassis
- Amos Gitai
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 9 nominations

Photos11

+ 4

Top cast12

Edit

Yaël Abecassis

Rivka

Yoram Hattab

Meïr

Meital Berdah

Malka
(as Meital Barda)

Uri Klauzner

Yossef
(as Uri Ran-Klausner)

Yussuf Abu-Warda

Rav Shimon

Leah Koenig

Elisheva
(as Lea Koenig)

Sami Huri

Yaakov
(as Sami Hori)

Rivka Michaeli

Gynaecologist

Samuel Calderon

Uncle Shmouel

Noa Dori

Shireen Kadivar

Lexa

Amos Gitai

Man in the bar
(uncredited)

Director
- Amos Gitai
Writers
- Eliette Abecassis
- Amos Gitai
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

6.2

Alila

6.3

Kippur

6.0

Kedma

6.5

Children of the Century

6.1

The Flesh of the Orchid

5.9

7.2

6.7

7.7

6.9

8.5

7.6

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Amos Gitai began shooting on February 2, 1999 and shot the majority of the sequences in continuity. He then edited his film at the rate of 18 hours per day, to send it in mid-April to Gilles Jacob, the president of the Cannes Film Festival, who selected it immediately.

Goofs
The scene where Yossef the zealot prays loudly for understanding the Torah is completely preposterous. An Orthodox Jew would always pray silently, even when alone. To pray in such a boorish manner would only invite ridicule.

Alternate versions
The "Making of" featurette shows several scenes cut from the movie, including one of Rivka preparing a meal.

Connections
Featured in A History of Israeli Cinema (2009)

Soundtracks
Silence
from "Once Upon a Time in the South"
Performed by Dino Saluzzi

User reviews43

Review

Featured review

7/10

Interesting and unusual.

I would agree that this film progresses at a very slow pace but the story about the secretive world of orthodox Judaism is interesting. In spite of being traditionalist Hassidism is relatively modern to the long history of the Jewish religion being formed amongst Eastern European Jewry in the 18th century, partly as a reaction to anti-semitism and secularism.

The director Amos Gitai has taken on a very difficult task in portraying this sect of Judaism. What is put across well is the incompatibility of conservative traditionalism with a secular society and how suffocating and repressive religious strictures can be. A good story but one that could have shown in more detail the contrasts between the reality of secular Israeli society and the closed world of mysticism.