When Esther (Mili Avital) is set on a journey to discover the story of who her parents are, she unravels a rich history filled with triumph and tragedy. Joining forces with professor Zayde (Ori Pfeffer) to Israel to visit the places and connect with the people who were a part of the tapestry of her origin story, she learns that one should never take for granted where their feet landed.
Seasoned auteur director Guido Chiesa captures the poetic in the mundane and the romance in even the most common of occurrences. By bringing this rich adaptation of Meir Shalev’s celebrated novel The Loves of Judith, Chiesa and long-time collaborator Nicoletta Micheli take the audience on a journey that is as much about the past as it is the present, seamlessly tying together this non-linear story to capture the essence from the page of this Israeli masterpiece.
“When Esther is set on a journey to discover the story of who her parents are, she unravels a rich history filled with triumph and tragedy.”
Ophir Award nominee Mili Avital brings a quiet, aching realism to Esther, grounding the film’s exploration of identity and ancestral gratitude. Best known to indie audiences for Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man and to sci-fi fans as Sha’uri in the blockbuster film Stargate, Avital delivers a performance defined by profound vulnerability. Opposite her, Romanian powerhouse Ana Ularu is mesmerizing as the fiercely independent Yehudit. Ularu balances a defiant, spirited soul against the harsh cultural prejudices of the 1930s, making it entirely believable that she would enchant three different men without ever losing her autonomy.
Rounding out this masterful cast is Ori Pfeffer as Zayde, the professor who acts as a guide and narrator to Esther’s journey to the past. Portraying the loves of Yehudit’s life are Game of Thrones alumni Marc Rissmann playing against type as the love-sick bird enthusiast Yaakov, revered Israeli cinema and television star Menashe Noy as stern widowed farmer Moshe, and Kosovo-Albanian acclaimed actor Alban Ukaj as Globerman. This is a cast bursting at the seams with treasures.
For the Love of a Woman is a cinematic experience. This film classically combines what it means to be human, the struggles and triumphs of those who have come before us, and the reverence those journeys deserve to make us what we are today. With a moving story, beautiful direction and a cast and crew that execute with precision this is a film not to be missed.
"…This is a cast bursting at the seams with treasures..."
