Review of The Secrets

Movies about strictly Orthodox Jews come with a built-in problem. Everyone wants a boy-meets-girl story, but in real life these boys and girls aren't allowed to meet alone. So THE SECRETS pretends that the prohibition doesn't exist, and it's not the first movie to pretend so. It also throws out the window the Orthodox rule that says women shouldn't be singing within earshot of men; but at least, in doing so, it provides some good listening. The city of Safed is beautifully photographed, and the actors do their work well. The supporting actors were drawn largely from the ranks of Israeli comedy, but being separated from their usual images by Orthodox trappings, they don't ring a false note (except Adir Miller, who can't be blamed for allowing the audience to see he's not really playing that clarinet). Fanny Ardent the guest actress does her best with a part in which her physical suffering waxes and wanes for reasons that seem to have more to do with the drama's demands of the moment than with any treatment she is receiving. The lead actress is convincing in her quest to promote greater religious responsibility for women, but if that's the filmmakers' agenda, they were too caught in their own mindset to realize that for many members of a general audience, the fact that she has lesbian tendencies as well feeds negative stereotyping of feminists. The script also suffers a bit from coincidence syndrome, but it is a nobly ambitious script with at least one big thinking point, about how sometimes "no" is the most positive answer.