Life's About Loss And Gain! "FILL THE VOID" is a great film in ways that seldom are seen: with this picture of a family suffering the loss of one daughter in her child's birth-- while her sister is coexistently looking for a husband.
Here is a film which shows how this plays out in an ultra- Orthodox(Haredi) family in the city of Tel Aviv, Israel.
What A Yogi Once Said: This Jewish sect is quite an observant community- secluded from the rest of the population and practicing their faith in a way that is totally dedicated to God.
An Indian Yogi once said, "The deepest challenge which faces humankind is establishment of unity with God"; and whether this unity does exist with these people in this movie, they certainly strive to realize it firmly.
They might push it a bit much, but their every word makes some reference to God's Will, His Mercy or His Love for Them.
A Family's Struggle! Yet, the real message here is how an Orthodox family must struggle deeply: To achieve some sort of harmony that helps the widower-- who very quickly must find a wife to help reestablish himself as a husband, and a father; and-- by this group's sincere regard for family connectiveness-- to consider the feelings of the dead wife's grieving mother and her great need to keep the infant in her vicinity so she can help rear him.
A Movie Of Contrasts! The added test of the movie comes when the young sister of this dead woman is now looking for a husband of her own.
Is there any way this widower and this sister-in- law could marry? It's here where tensions flare up with how they both feel and how they can somehow resolve all their confused questions about their own futures and --of course-the baby's future.
"But What About My Stove!" In this community the Rabbi is a man who's developed an innate sense of justice, which he does administer with great compassion to any and all who approach his office.
There is a humorous"sidebar"-- when deep in discussion with widower and young maiden-- a woman bursts in with a demand the Rabbi help her decide about a stove! The Rabbi asks, "Don't you have any neighbors who can help you find your needed stove?" She negates that.
"Any children?" "No!" she answers.
Thus it turns out that this Rabbi is her only hope for such help! So the next scene shows this man showing her the stove in his kitchen-- pointing out its various features and dealing with her comments.
Once he's given her his counsel, he returns to the group --embroiled in the struggle, which sort of ends up in deadlock.
A New Consensus Comes! ...
Gradually, however- whether through answered prayers or some human evolution of their feeling process-- they emerge with a new consensus; and the last scene shows this widower and his former sister-in-law (now his new wife) beginning to take on the blessings and responsibilities of marriage in fresh privacy.
Marriage Then Love Unite! I really enjoyed this film-for its beauty, its honesty and religious zeal-- for authenticity in the portrayal of these people, who do live in a faith which we all must greet with wonder and respect.
Their marriage then their love unite -in opposite order to which Western Culture professes, then struggles therewith.
And The Final Grade Is: Needless to say, I'll give this film--with subtitles-- an EIGHT PLUS and wish it the best.