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JELLYFISH Send This Review to a Friend
“Jellyfish,” a new film from Israel by Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen, has already stirred international interest, including winning the Camera d’Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Also showcased at the 2008 New Directors/New Films series, it is an odd tale that ultimately raises questions about how much is real and how much is in the mind.
The story involves Batya (Sarah Adler), a catering waitress who finds a child (Nikol Leidman), who seems to have been abandoned on a Tel Aviv beach, and begins looking after her. There are issues in Batya’s life that give her a special reason for focusing on the child.
Among the characters we meet are Keren (Noa Knoller), a bride who breaks her leg in a bizarre accident at her wedding, who become increasingly ridiculous and boring as events play out. The film has a pretentious air to it, including symbolism of the sea, and perhaps thinking of people as jellyfish. The whole episode with the child takes on what might be seen as a metaphysical edge.
True, there is humor that hits the mark occasionally, and the film contains observations about the lives its characters lead in a particular milieu. Some may consider the film deep, but it tried my patience. A Zeitgeist Films release.
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