 |
| Reymonde Amsallem stars in Fragile |
We're Not Going Anywhere
IMDb Plot: Jerusalem, 1966. In a crumbling old building in the center of the city, lives a small family. Eli, the father, is at work all day. His wife Ruthy is locked up inside her own world and spends her days in bed, reading the thick novels her husband brings her from the library. Michal, their 11-year-old daughter, is lonely and bored and seeks attention from the other tenants and attractions around the building. One day, when Ruthy decides to get out of bed, the apparent peace and serenity of the house is violated.
Director Vidi Bilu hints at various taboos in the otherwise enjoyable Israeli drama Fragile, before bashing her audience over the head with one of the worst endings I've ever seen. How bad? Bad enough to spoil it (for your own protection.) Unless you think an off-camera "connection" between a pedophile and an 11-year-old girl is acceptable. Stranger still, Bilu waits until the very end of the movie to unleash it. It's an egregious error that undoes the film's many positives beforehand (specifically Reymonde Amsallem as Ruthy.) Eli asks Ruthy, "You have no limits, do you?" Perhaps he's referring to Bilu?
Grade: F (Was a B, but the ending is inexcusably poor.)
