Jellyfish (film)

Jellyfish

theatrical release poster
Directed by Etgar Keret
Shira Geffen
Produced by Yael Fogiel
Amir Harel
Ayelet Kit
Written by Shira Geffen
Starring Sarah Adler
Nikol Leidman
Gera Sandler
Noa Knoller
Ma-nenita De Latorre
Zaharira Harifai
Music by Christopher Bowen
Cinematography Antoine Héberlé
Edited by François Gédigier
Distributed by Pyramide Distribution
Release dates
  • June 28, 2007
Running time
 78 minutes
Country Israel
France
Language Hebrew
English
Tagalog
German

Jellyfish (Hebrew: מדוזות‎; Meduzot) is a 2007 Israeli film based on a story by Shira Geffen and directed by her husband, Etgar Keret. The film tells the story of three women in Tel Aviv whose intersecting lives paint a pessimistic portrait of Israeli secular life. Batya, a waitress at weddings, comes across a mute child who seemingly emerges from the sea. Keren, a bride whose wedding Batya worked at, breaks her leg climbing out of bathroom stall and ruins her dream honeymoon in the process. And Joy, a Filipina domestic, attends to her employer with whom she struggles to communicate. Poetic imagery draws connections between the lives of these women, all of whom find solace in the sea.

Jellyfish was the winner of the 2007 Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the Official Selection at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, and the Official Selection at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival. The film stars Sarah Adler and Gera Sandler. The DVD release date was September 30, 2008.

Themes

The film begins and ends with the little girl in the presence of its main character, Batya at the sea- when first it appears, coming out, and ending with her following the tot into it, almost drowning. Instead her friend Malka pulls her out. She is revived, appearing relieved to find that she still has her friend.

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from Western critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 88% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 49 reviews.[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 68 out of 100, based on 11 reviews.[2]

References

External links