Reviews

This was one of the most interesting films that I watched recently, which is especially good given that I was watching it for my class. The friendship between Rochel and Nasira is beautiful, and the theme of religion and arranged marriage was presented very well. I liked how they showed the perspective of the women and their struggles with it.

My focus is mainly on the religious aspects of the movie. From the first minutes of the film, we could already see the presence of Muslim religion in the form of street signs. We have several scenes of characters expressing their faith, either by wearing particular clothes - Nasira wearing hijab and Rochel's father and other Orthodox Jewish men wearing Jewish hats (I believe they are called kippa) - or praying and engaging in religious rituals. The scene with religious washing gave me childhood flashbacks, but not in a bad way; it was just interesting to see the process from outsider perspective in a movie. I didn't get to see that before. And Rochel is constantly carrying a little book with her that contain religious prayings. She casually reads it anywhere, from cemetery to public transportation.

Both Rochel and Nasira are deeply religious women. They are teachers undergoing diversity training at the same school. Both feel an inner sense of connection, a sort of understanding, when their way of life does not resemble that of women, or people in general, of different religions or traditional backgrounds. It was shown at the scene at cafeteria, when other women discussed relationships and proposals. Then, the next scene introduces Rochel's family at dinner, and there is another contrast between her and other women when the topic of arranged marriage appears.

The description of Jewish arranged marriage is rather positive in my opinion, at least the idea behind it. It is explained from a rational point of view and I must admit that even though I'm guilty for having prejudices in the past, I was once again moved by a positive picture. There are differences in approaches between Jewish and Muslim communities when it comes to arranged marriages, and it was interesting to learn about them. For Rochel, the main issue was that she could not connect with any of the men at the beginning and her relatives would pressure her to choose anyway. Yet, she could still go on individual dates with these men to get to know them better, and the matchmaking was done by a different person. While for Nasira, all was done by her father and she was not expected to keep in touch with her suitor. She did, by her own ways, but she was not expected to. Yet, even though Nasira seems to have less benefits in the process of arranging marriage compared to Jewish ways, she has a rather progressive father who would take her side in the movie.

There are various situation when two women had to face prejudices and arrogance from other people, and again it what something that was unifying for them both. Rochel and Nasira gain negative attention from people based on their religions. They are successful and smart, but there is still a stereotype going on that they are oppressed and need to be liberated. In my opinion, this aspect was disproved really well later in the movie. This idea of religious women, particularly Muslim women from what I've heard, being in need of saving is still popular these days.

The movie provides some views of outsiders on the relationship between people of different religions, particular Muslim and Jewish people. The scene in the classroom regarding the tense relationship between Muslim and Jewish communities reflects the bigger picture. And even though they could figure it out in class, the real situation is tense, which is evident by the reactions of Rochel's mother and other family members. Also, at one point children brought up the idea that Muslims apparently want to "push Jews back into the ocean" which reminded me about the origin stories of the Judaism we studied in class.

The way Rochel's siblings were concerned with Nasira and her nephew not being Jew, and thus hesitating to interact with them, also reminded me of the fact that at one point it was proclaimed and written in the times of King Josiah that Jewish people should not mix with people of other religions, so this moment in the film feels like a distant echo of that. There is some sense of alienation.

I liked how this movie confronted the stereotypes related to both religions and yet did not portray them as if they are absolutely perfect for their followers. The stories of Rochel and Nasira are not without some doubt and troubles. In case of Rochel, she even considers choosing a life outside of her religious beliefs before she realized that that kind of life would not suit her. I was glad to see that the endings was happy for both women, and I believe I learned something more from watching the movie. I was able to pick up on depictions of religious rituals after learning about them in class, but the concept of arranged marriage was not that familiar to me, so seeing it as a visual story was exciting and insightful.

Usually I do not expect documentary movies to affect me emotionally, but this film was a good surprise. The director made a great job showing us the insights of Buddhist culture by an example of life and work of a monk called Khru Bah. Boxer in the past, Khru Bah now dedicated his life in religion and helping orphan children by taking them in the monastery and teaching Buddhist religious traditions. I especially liked the way the director focused on children's past, revealing their stories. Most of Khru Bah's followers experienced difficulties in their lives - almost everyone either lost their parents or could no longer be raised and supported by them, but the monk's work gave these children a chance for a better future. Living in the Golden Horse monastery, these children are provided with basic self-care supplies and taught to follow Buddhist customs. Sure, it was not easy for them to adjust to a new place and get along with new people, but Khru Bah and nun's patience and wiliness to help soon gained children's trust. The director provides us with a good opportunity to know what a real life in the monastery looks like. Khru Bah is an example for his pupils to follow, and his actions, his way of solving different kinds of conflicts taking place affect children's view on life, showing them the importance of compassion and support. Thus, we could say that the monastery is like a new home for all these children, and Khru Bah is playing a role of the father, even giving them new names and being strict when the situation asks for it. The setting takes place in the Golden Triangle, which is a border territory in the Northern Thailand known for drug dealing. And again here is something I did not expect to see in the movie - it is a way Khru Bah emphasises the danger of drugs and importance of avoiding them. "How can your village be strong when your bodies are weak and addicted to drugs?", he asks from the citizens of one of the villages they visit. It can be seen that people respect him as they listen to his speech and advice. And when the monk with his pupils start their day visiting villages, the citizens make contributions in the form of food and other necessary stuff, as they believe that by doing this they would improve their karma. Also as Khru Bah and his pupils often move in dangerous regions it is important for children to be able to stand for themselves, so the monk teaches them how to do boxing using his own past experience. I think that this is an important scene to point out because it contradicts the general stereotype about Buddhism being a non-violent religion. Khru Bah shows that it is possible to follow Buddhist religious traditions and develop your physical strength at the same time. And the Buddha himself demonstrated after his experiencing of asceticism that a weak body is no good for the enlightenment. So Khru Bah emphasises the importance of both body purity and strength and clear mind. So the movie was both informative and interesting, and I personally enjoyed watching it. The work of Khru Bah and nun Khun Ead is very important, in my opinion, because they not only teach young children to follow Buddhist religious traditions but most importantly provide a good example of sympathy and compassion and give these children an opportunity for a good life.