Fill the Void (2013) Review

5/5

Well, that didn't take long. I was wondering how many films I'd have to see until I got my first 5/5 to write about (not in the year, but since starting this site) and the answer came to me starting at 6:30 this evening. What a way to start the best of the best.
Fill the Void is a story so simple, one wouldn't think it deserves a feature length film. A girl (Hadas Yaron) must decide whether, in order to keep her family together, to marry the groom (Yiftach Klein) of her tragically deceased sister. One would ask how this simple sentence fills a 90 minute film, and the answer is wonderfully.
The story is set in Israel in a Hasidic neighborhood. All of the characters are Hasidic. Their story, however, transcends religion and race and location. It belongs to each of us, within us, and for that it should be viewed by the masses. There is much more to admire.
The acting on all counts is just exemplary. Though Yaron and Klein generally dominate screen time, it is a feat accomplished when the supporting characters each have their own life and share a story with their eyes that drives the audience to recognize and emotionally connect to them. The love is palpable and the lack thereof is tense, which is a tribute to these actors.
Rama Burshtein is something of a magician. Her debut feature moves like it is her fifteenth, her actors respond and convey true emotion, and she frames each shot with a kind of grace I admire and am inspired by. What draws you in immediately, however, is the focus. She uses the focus of the shot to tell you what to see, what you should see coming, and to convey emotion almost as if it is a character of its own. This is what filmmakers aspire to: turn the camera into a storyteller. Burshtein succeeds with her very first feature. It is an understatement to say I am excited to see what she does next.
If there is one thing I will remember about this film, and I will in all likelihood remember more than one thing, but should there only be one then it will be the ending. As the emotional climax of the film approached and arrived, I welled up with tears. I was struck by the beauty of the shot, the majesty of the filmmaking and the raw nature of the frame. Then, just as I was hoping for the screen to go black, the film continues. "That does it," I thought, "no more 5/5." The ending that Burshtein decided was best, as it turns out, was best. The ending I expected was just that: expected. Burshtein was not content with that, and gives an ending that not only shifts the entire film altogether but ends with a tone that doesn't align from the film. That's where the genius of it all lies: in taking simplicity and making it complex.