Eyes Wide Open review

Screened in Cannes‘ Un Certain Regard section, and nominated for the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival in 2009, Eyes Wide Open is an exquisite and controversial Israeli film that documents the burgeoning love affair between a married butcher and his young male assistant in an ultra-orthodox Jerusalem suburb.

Zohar Shtrauss is mesmerising as Aaron, a butcher and ceremonial figure in the local synagogue whose life unravels after a stranger, Ezri (Ran Danker), turns up at his store asking for help. Compelled to take him in, Aaron – and the townsfolk – gradually come to realise why Ezri lives so light, ready to move on at a moment’s notice when the weight of moral condemnation falls on his shoulders.

But Aaron is different. As long-buried feelings are awakened, Aaron reconciles his emotions to his religious faith, seeking redemption in the path of temptation. But human fallibility takes precedence over divine forgiveness, and soon Aaron and Ezri have succumbed to a passionate affair. Their feelings are both a challenge and an affront to the moral guardians of the community, whose advice soon turns to warnings and finally threats.

Director Haim Tabakman’s studied, observational style and Shtrauss’ open, innocent features are the perfect foil to the raging passions and religious agony that lie beneath the surface of this moving film.

Perhaps, in broader terms, the response to Aaron and Ezri’s homosexuality represents the prescriptive hostility of a nation that has long cultivated a siege mentality. But in truth this is a personal story, a delicate and sensual experience filmed with humanity and tenderness. It is buoyed by the extraordinary commitment and honesty of its leads, especially Danker who, as something of an Israeli Zac Efron, has everything to lose by courting this kind of controversy.

“Before I was dead; now I am alive,” Aaron tells a friend. But imminent tragedy casts a shadow over every scene. In a heartbreaking climax, Aaron will make a choice between the angels and demons of his nature, perhaps without truly recognising the differences between them. In a wonderful and tear-jerking final shot, Aaron finds his redemption – but for what and from whom, you can no longer be sure.