Late Marriage
Picture: C Sound: C Extras:
D Film: C
The main goal of all Hollywood films,
no matter what the subject, has been getting the male and female leads together
at the end. It is insane to what ends
these films will go to achieve this, no matter how laughable, often becoming a
cliché. Down With Love (2003) is
the latest example of a film that is aware of this fact. This has become a problem once again in the
recent cycle of wedding films, but Late Marriage (2001) attempts its own
twist on this situation.
The packaging for the film boldly
compares it to My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Monsoon Wedding, but
thankfully does not dig up My Best Friend's Wedding. This film is more serious, though still has
some humor, but that humor is based in a more realistic world. The religious needs of the families are
taken much more seriously, for instance.
That's a good thing, but then the film offers an unflinching look at
dysfunction in another culture, and a sex scene that is among the most honestly
filmed in a truly intelligent film.
The DVD picture is in anamorphic 1.78:1
widescreen ratio, but is not as sharp as it should be, especially since the
source is a PAL video master. The film is mostly set indoors, but camerawork is
good no matter the setting. Too bad
then that the image offered here has the limits it does. There are not too many close shots, so this
does not look like a TV movie either.
The color is adequate, but could be better.
The sound is listed as Dolby SR on the
box, which indicates the film was issued in the advanced analog Pro Logic
system the company issued in 1987, before digital arrived in the early
1990s. However, the Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo surround sound is too much in the center channel when decoded for its
own good, resulting in a dead-centered dullness that hurts the presentation of
the audio overall. Of course, this is a
dialogue-based film, but that is never an excuse just to stick everything in
the center channel. The combination that results is watchable, but seems a bit
more dated than it should for a film from 2001. It is recorded well enough, but then it is in a language this
critic cannot understand, so those who know otherwise will have an additional
concern about the audio.
The film stars Lior Ashkenazi, Ronit
Elkabetz, Moni Moshinov, and Lili Kosashvili.
Behind the camera it was Edited by Yael Perlov, with Cinematography by
Dani Schneor, Music by Joseph Bardabashvili, and Written & Directed by
Dover Kosashvili.
Late Marriage is among a group of distinguished films that have come out of Israel in
recent years, but is not one of the most effective ones. Films like Time Of Favor have
offered more realism and authenticity, but Late Marriage is just average
overall after what it tries to pull off.
This is not just by comparison, or because of its comedy, but because so
much remains unsaid. The conclusion is
also problematic for reasons impossible to go into without spoiling the film,
for there are those who will still find what is there at least ethnically
authentic.
As for the DVD, this is still a better
than usual disc for a near-basic edition, in part because New Yorker does such
a nice job putting such a disc together.
Especially for dealing constantly with art films and documentaries, they
cannot afford to allow their product to look shabby. They have done their best with what they had, but the technical
performance disappoints.
- Nicholas Sheffo
