Film nominated for Israeli academy awards

The largest bakery in Jerusalem suffered a tragedy as a Romanian foreign worker named Yulia is killed in a suicide bus bombing, but without a family to claim her body, it is up to the bakery’s human resources manager to track down the relatives and improve the image of a business accused of indifference towards its workers.
Adapted from the novel A Woman in Jerusalem by acclaimed Israeli novelist A. B. Yehoshua, director Eran Riklis, 56, brings the story to film with Mark Ivanir playing the stressed title character who is in the midst of a strained marriage, a failed relationship with his daughter, and a disappointing job. Faithful to the novel, Riklis follows the rule of keeping all the characters nameless, except for the deceased Yulia.
Riklis takes the back roads through Romania, finding Yulia’s violent ex-husband who lives in a crumbing apartment; her teenage son, who lives with a gang amid urban ruins; and her disappointed mother, who lives in a shtetl of muddy roads. Neither has a strong connection to Yulia, as her HR manager struggles to find an appropriate family member to take the body off his hands.
Gradually, the characters begin to develop emotions and empathy for the deceased and for each other, as they struggle to give Yulia a dignified burial.
Shooting the film over a span of just 31 days, Riklis expressed gratitude to the locals. “Romania was great. Friendly, professional and yet full of surprises,” Riklis said. Born in the U.S., Riklis spent part of his childhood in Brazil before making aliyah.
“My family came from all over, the Ukraine, Lithuania, Austria and Russia, so I guess somewhere deep inside me I knew what to expect when I came to Romania and it made the whole production easy despite the freezing weather,” Riklis said.
The film opens this Friday in participating local indie theaters, including Sunshine Theater on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Malverne Theaters on Long Island, and Kew Gardens Cinemas in Queens.
Riklis’ recent films have also focused on minorities in Israel. The Syrian Bride focuses on the Druze of Golan Heights and their relationship to neighboring Syria, and The Lemon Tree focuses on a Palestinian widow’s property.
Traveling through the Romanian countryside, the film shows no hints of anti-Semitism. Instead, the driver, the Israeli ambassador’s Romanian husband, the ex-husband, and the deeply Christian villagers all appear to suggest that there is a good reason why people migrate to Israel.
With a respectful burial for one of its own by the Israeli title character, perhaps the image of Israel could improve for the average Eastern European, as the otherwise indifferent secular sabra reveals his hidden compassion for a colleague from work.