Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

punishmentpark Arranged marriages in the Chassidic Jewish community in Jerusalem, Israel; not an easy subject, since it is basically morally reprehensible. But I was surprised to witness that the film gets away with it. The ending doesn't suggest at all that they will live happily ever after, and before that, the film tells a well balanced story about all those directly involved.Hadas Yaron did an amazing job and has a natural presence that took me in straight away, but the rest of the cast did very well, too. The photography is beautiful and subtle. It took me a little while to get into the story and the experience of it all, but once it did (about some twenty minutes in), it didn't let me go until the very end.A good 8 out of 10.

betterforever128 Except for the Jewish law that says a man is not allowed to marry 2 sisters (which Shira does point out when the match is suggested, but is never addressed further. Maybe he just can't marry two living sisters?), it is a perfect picture. The insight, the mannerisms, the process and procedure, but especially the acting. The furtive staring at the Sabbath table, the awkward passing of the baby. The actions of every day Chassidic life display the characters deep feelings, completely forbidden overt expression and and yet all encompassing shared meaning. Spoilers start here. I think the film takes a very healthy position and respect for the question a woman's role in Chassidic society. I see the mother (Rivka) as very pushy and in control of everything in the house. She makes all the decisions and does not need to consult with her husband before making big moves. Shira is given many choices and her opinion is respected. Her mother pressures her as many mothers would but her father, aunt, and rabbi all recommend she make her own choice. Shira fails to define her own needs until after a failed secondary match. She discovers her own desire, and the value of her own feelings, which she was not in touch with when her first match was suggested. I don't think she is passive or pressured. I think she matures and grows as a character as the movie progresses. She learns that what she needs is not just a random bochur (boy) to be her husband but someone she really cares about.As to the title, although Shira does end up filling the void in everyone's lives, Shira also becomes a complete person for herself. This is what the rabbi was referring to when he said she had to be honest and understand her emotions when he initially rejected the idea of her marrying Yochay. It is what she went on to express to her date whom she rejected on the grounds of needing to establish a home of honesty and truth. And being true to herself is how Yochay eventually convinced her to marry him. The way the story is told reminds me of the realism of Russian literature. A story of meaning and feeling implied by actions and intensity often in contradiction to the words being used. p.s.After reading all of the other reviews I have noticed a couple of regular misunderstandings. First the guy she has a date with after Yochay is not the boy from the grocery store who turned her down initially. Secondly Frieda and the other red head are not Shira's sisters.

bijou-2 A tragically sad and horrifying film about a group of people who have isolated themselves into a micro-world of limited choices. Their options are controlled by a religious dogma of oppression and fear, without any weight assigned to personal emotions or hope. Aside from child abuse, why would a young girl be forced to such choices?Even if we think the male lead is a good man for her, why would anyone else think so? Are we all Jane Austen matchmaker scum from two centuries ago? This is a horror film for those who think faith overrules common sense. I found it terrifying.

gradyharp One reason to view FILL THE VOID, written and directed by Rama Burshtein, is the opportunity to view the clothing, the mannerisms, the singing (endless), and the other unique characteristics of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community. For those who have never witness this spectrum of Judaism it is an eye-opening experience: religious law, tradition and the rabbi's word are absolute. Marriages are arranged and a woman's outside options are limited, as marriage is a central and crucial moment in their lives. Matches are arranged, decisions about whom to marry are critically important, but apparently the woman always has the right to turn down a prospective suitor. Of importance to note, Rama Burshtein comes form this community and her understanding of all the permutations is obvious.Shira (Hadas Yaron), a devout 18-year-old Israeli, has come of age and is considering marriage, having met her first serious suitor Yossi (Ido Samuel). Shira's eldest sister Esther (Renana Raz) suddenly dies in childbirth leaving her grieving husband Yochay (the very handsome and talented Yiftach Klein) with a son and no mother to care for the infant. Despite his grief (and the grief of Shira's parents - Irit Sheleg and Chayim Sharir) Yochay decides he must marry. Shira's other sister Frieda (Hila Feldman) declares that Esther had informed her that should anything happen to Esther, Frieda should marry Yochay. Shira's mother, afraid that Yochay will take the offer from a Belgium woman to marry and thus move away with her grandson from Tel Aviv, encourages Shira to marry Yochay. Shira is conflicted, gains support from her armless unmarried aunt Hanna (Razia Israeli) who knows that in this community a woman MUST be married, and after much discussion among the Rabbi (Melech Thal) and the family and Yochay and Shira, a conversation between the couple seals their fate.The acting is excellent, the cinematography often times seems flooded with light and slightly out of focus as if taken through layers of wedding veils (!), the costumes are amazing even they are the usual dress mode of this Hassidic community, and the attention to detail of such moments as Purim and Shabbat are immaculate. The seemingly endless amount of singing by the men does grow a bit wearisome and covers dialogue at times, but this is a fresh and fascinating view of love, traditions, and laws and the still viable personal choices in this colorful community. In Hebrew with English subtitles. Grady Harp