Meduzot (Jellyfish) (2007)

I didn't know much about this movie going into it, except that it was directed by the wonderful Etgar Keret and his wife Shira Geffen (who also wrote it). Jellyfish weaves together the stories of three women living in Tel Aviv, who have each experienced a change in their lives and are dealing with the subsequent consequences. The three characters all begin their tales at a wedding, and split off from there to meet wildly different circumstances.

Batya (Sarah Adler), a waitress at the wedding reception, is suffering from a drastically leaking apartment, a bad break-up, cold-hearted parents, and an asshole boss (a cameo by Etgar Keret himself). She finds a four year old, apparently mute and parent-less girl in the ocean. There's no information about her and social services is closed on weekends, so Batya takes her home until she can be placed in proper hands. The girl seems perpetually wet and refuses to remove the flotation device from around her belly, but acts as a calming force on Batya, who finds herself inexplicably drawn to her.

Keren (Noa Knoller), the new bride, broke her leg at the reception and is forced to stay in the hotel room for most of her honeymoon. This understandably puts a strain on both her and her new husband, as does a sultry writer he meets who seems intent on vaguely flirting with him. Keren moves listlessly around her room, secretly writing a poem and wondering how well she knows her husband. When the writer offers to switch hotel rooms with the couple (hers is a suite), they each learn more about one another than anticipated.

Joy (Ma-nenita De Latorre) is a Filipino woman who speaks English but no Hebrew, and tries to find work as a maid or general companion to the elderly (she was at the wedding accompanying her then-employer) in an attempt to make enough money to support her young son home in the Phillipines. She starts working for the aged and sick, but brusque and opinionated, Malka (Zaharira Harifai) who speaks only Hebrew and German. Naturally this speech barrier proves an impediment, especially for the impatient Malka, but things sort of work themselves out.

This film is beautiful and wistful. The stories are uncomplicated but reach deep into the viewer. I instantly cared for the characters despite their limited dialogue and screen time. I love the slightly absurdist world Geffen has created: A scene in a photograph comes to life for just an instant. A leaking apartment becomes a sunken cesspool. A man selling ice cream takes on deeper meaning. Batya's story seemed to anchor the whole film, and I liked it best, but all three were engaging and heart-wrenching (especially for wimps like me). Jellyfish is a very impressive and affecting directorial debut for both, and a solid writing debut for Geffen. It's main drawback would be that at 78 minutes it felt too short.

4.5/5