Ushpizin (2004 - Israel)

Directed by Gidi Dar

(In Hebrew language with English translations)

When the Children of Israel left Egypt, the Lord had them stayed in Succoth - temporary dwellings. As a reminder of them in the desert, during the Exodus, the Children of Israel are commanded, each year, to leave their homes and dwell in Succoth for seven days. They are also commanded to make blessings on the Four Species; Date-palm branches, myrtle, willow, and citron.

USHPIZIN - Aramaic word for guests.
During the festival of Succoth, it is customary to host guests in the Succah.

This was the introductory words in the movie.

A down-and-out Jewish rabbi and his wife is penniless to celebrate even for the festival of Succoth. They prayed for a miracle, and suddenly somebody offered them a Succah dwelling for free, a thousand US dollars in an envelope under the door, and two unlikely but familiar visitors at the eve of the festival. While they cheered for joy on all of this sudden miracles, littlest beknowing that each of these miracles were not quite a good miracle at all. They realized that the Succah dwelling they got was given to them 'without permission to the real owner'. And the two visitors were former escaped convicts that only brought back the rabbi's ugly and dark pasts and disturbs the little Jewish community.

As a movie critic, it's not really as good as any of the other international cinemas I've seen so far, but the best part of it is that it gives us an insight of what goes on inside the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel and how they set up their customs on their religious practices. What makes it not a totally boring movie is the two visitors who are not familiar with the community their former rabbi friend had been since his drastic changes and how it adds to the test of their religious faith for both the couples.