Dryly funny and richly humane, Ushpizin marries biblical simplicity to secular banality to depict an everyday miracle of devotion rewarded.
Comment
06/15/07
Ushpizin (2005)
93 %
Reviews Counted: 59 Fresh: 55 Rotten:4 Average Rating: 7.4/10
Consensus:
Ushpizin offers a rare and warmly intimate look into ultra-Orthodox Jewish culture.
Rated: PG
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Theatrical Release: 17-03-2006
Synopsis: A heartwarming and humorous Israeli drama set in the customarily closed world of ultra-Orthodox Jews, Ushpizin is the story of Moshe and Malli, a married couple, who are suffering through a financial crisis. Naturally they pray for help, but instead of a miracle, two suspicious strangers... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Shuli Rand, Michal Bat Sheva Rand
Director: Gidi Dar
Reviews
Top Critic Top CriticClick to read the article
03/18/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/22/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/09/06
Top Critic
An orthodox Jew will identify and thereby raise the level of the movie to something beyond the temporal film experience
10/02/07
Click to read the article
12/30/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
05/12/06
Ushpizin is engaging, entertaining and has something to say about us humans, through the prism of discovering %u2013 or re-discovering %u2013 the importance of faith, and the strength it can impart. Especially under duress.
02/18/06
In addition to providing a fascinating, agenda-free look at an unseen way of life, the film presents a lesson that should be welcome among people of any faith or none at all.
01/20/06
Devout and delightful. That's a rare one-two punch for a feature film. Ushpizin pulls it off.
01/19/06
The film provides a valuable glimpse into the religious practices of ultra-Orthodox Jews living in Jerusalem. But it's also a cleverly plotted film, which, refreshingly, also features a few welcome comic elements.
01/06/06
The type of well-written and thoughtful family film that some may have been clamoring for since the hugely successful and hugely formulaic My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
01/03/06
The film rests squarely on the backs of Rand and his wife, who snatches the spotlight from her professionally trained husband in her acting debut.
12/31/05
At once alien and familiar: part Old World folk tale, part inspirational sitcom.
12/20/05
The award-winning Israeli film Ushpizin offers both an enlightening look at Orthodox Jewish life in Jerusalem, as well as a warm and witty tale of belief and miracles, for believers and non-believers alike.
12/16/05
Fervent without edging over into preachiness, the film examines the humor that can be found in the lives of the bushy-bearded, curly-sideburns set who live by a strict interpretation of the Torah.
12/15/05
Explores a world most of us know little or nothing about, and does it respectfully.
12/10/05
Related Forums
Critically-acclaimed USHPIZIN is worth your time, but only Jews will get the jokes?
by: Darko, Donnie 4/12/06
by: Darko, Donnie 4/12/06
Loved the movie!
by: SqueakyChu 12/19/05
by: SqueakyChu 12/19/05
IGN RSS Feeds