Ha-Sodot (The Secrets) poster & wallpaper

Adir Miller, Ania Bukstein, Fanny Ardant

Naomi, the brilliant and pious daughter of an ultra orthodox rabbi finds herself at a crossroads of life choices when her mother dies and she is expected to immediately marry her father's prodigy. Dis...( read more  read more... )tressed yet determined, she begs that her father allow her one year to study at a women's religious seminary in Safed, the birthplace of the Kabala, in order to prepare herself for the sacrifices she will make as a wife. Her father relents and Naomi's life begins to take an unexpected turn. Devote but lively, Naomi and her new friend Michelle befriend a beautiful, mysterious older woman, Anouk. The woman is ill, lives nearby, may or may not be Jewish, and may have committed a crime of passion. Naomi devises a series of rituals which will somehow "purify" Anouk and purge her of her sins, but as these stretch the borders of Jewish law they must be kept secret. Eventually, this journeys into the forbidden and leads to a growing attraction between the two girls and more crossroads are faced.

Flixster Users

82% liked it

369 ratings

Critics

71% liked it

14 critics

R, 2 hrs. 7 min.

Directed by: Avi Nesher

Release Date: June 14, 2007

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DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009

Stats: 50 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (50)

  • her69eyes
    May 3, 2009
    her69eyes
    To say "The Secrets", the newest film by Israeli director Avi Nesher, is busy is an understatement. The story, all told within about two hours, shifts from a film about cultural barriers, to a film about feminism, to a film about atonement, to a film with a lesbian soap opera at ...( read more)it's forefront, and so on. Although it is a well-acted and engaging melodrama, the film stumbles the most when it loses sight of characters in favor of fitting the next plot point in.

    The story, set in Safed (one of the four sacred cities in Israel), centers around Naomi (Ania Bukstein, a clone of Rachel Weisz), a well-studied daughter of a respected rabbi. She is set to be married to Michael (Guri Alfi), a suitor hand-selected by her father, however she requests that the marriage be put on hold so that she can continue religious studies at a seminary in Safed.

    It's at this seminary that she meets one of her roommates, Michelle (Michal Shtamler), a Parisian student who lives according to her own rules. The two are given an assignment, which Naomi only reluctantly accepts, which entails bringing food to a dying woman who lives near the seminary, Anouk (Fanny Ardant). Naomi and Michelle discover that Anouk spent 15 years in prison after the murder of her lover. When Anouk learns that the girls know of the incident, she begs them to lead her through Jewish cleansing rituals to let her die in peace.

    Although Naomi and Michelle don't think of each other much when first introduced, the audience clearly picks up on sexual tension between the two. It builds up steadily throughout the rest of the film, and about halfway in there is a wildly romantic scene where the lovers lustfully writhe together in bed.

    The problem with the film, however, is that it's not sure what it is. At times, we feel that this is an extremely liberal-feminist look at organized religion and it's frequent suppression of women, whereas at other moments it's all about an old woman begging for forgiveness to a God that's not her own. It feels unfocused and almost too anecdotal to fully expand on anything it comments on. A more concentrated effort on any of the subplots of the film would be a far more successful picture.

    Although "The Secrets" is overwrought, the performances by Ania Bukstein and Guri Alfi are worth seeing. The film has good ideas, too many of them, in fact, but as a soap opera it's both engaging and romantic.
  • InaHH
    October 25, 2009
    InaHH
    Touching, multi-faceted film with fantastic performances by amazingly impressive (and beautiful) actresses. Sometimes too many issues are cramped into one film, and occassionaly the melodrama is a bit over the top, but overall a great film.
  • rafaelkafka
    November 2, 2009
    rafaelkafka
    Very beautiful and touching movie, love it!
  • jezzstjezz
    September 9, 2009
    jezzstjezz
    Nice movie, filled with taboo, great performances. As usual, disappointing ending. Kind of rushed I'd say, even though it's a long movie, too long actually; excluding the ending, I thought it was very slow-paced. Anyways, a good movie. Great story and very sexy.
  • 5oclockcoffee
    April 8, 2009
    5oclockcoffee
    Søndagsengler (The Other Side of Sunday), but not that great. Lost and Delirious, but not that tragic. Love Sick (Legaturi bolnavicioase), but not that complex. Also, a little bit of Loving Annabelle and all the movie it has behind.

    A women's religious seminary. A silly (or du...( read more)mb) and an apparently nice (that later turns out against them) roommates. A good, intelligent and religious daughter of an ultra orthodox rabbi and a cool and rebel rich (that obviously smokes!) girl that comes from France. They get close and end up falling in love. The religious one becomes "openly" and her faith begins to change. The cool girl turns out to be the most traditional as possible.

    Don´t ask me how the girl that had to beg her father to allow her one year to study and not get married, suddenly decides she won´t get marry and rent an appartment in downtown. With which money once she doesn´t work? Maybe she got an inehitance, yeah. Things that we see only in movies...
    Well, well, but it´s always a plasure to watch Fanny Ardant, beautiful as ever.


  • elininferno
    October 24, 2008
    elininferno
    First read about it a couple of months ago, and been wanting to see it ever sense

View All Ha-Sodot (The Secrets) Reviews

Critic Reviews

March 13, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

The Secrets twines coming-out, coming-of-age and coming-to-terms-with-Orthodoxy in a way that diminishes all three -- and dilutes its message with clichés. full review

February 26, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

In some ways, it is a traditional narrative. But it is more. It is gently and powerfully acted. full review

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