Review by John Delia, Sr.
The fun modern day dark comedy One Week and a Day follows the plight of a family in Israel not unlike most Americans in the same situation. While there’s a lot of serious moments, the story shows that a lot goes into healing beyond Shiva. Good acting and plot, if you want to laugh and cry, check out this film when it comes to a theater near you.
Eyal (Shai Avivi) and his wife Vicky Spivak (Evgenia Dodina) have just about completed the last day of Shiva for the loss of their son Ron when their next door neighbors Shmulik (Sharon Alexander) and Keren Zooler (Carmit Mesilati-Kaplan) knock on their door with a token of their remorse. Upset that they waited till the end of the last day, Eyal tells them that it is too late.
It’s a sign that Eyal has and will not get over the loss soon. In fact he’s so buried in disbelief that he won’t even go to Ron’s grave. He does however go to the hospital where Ron spent the last days of his life to retrieve his treasured blanket. Instead of a blanket he comes up with a bag of Marijuana that he slips into his pocket.
When he gets home and realizes he doesn’t know how to roll a joint, Eyal finds a friend in the neighbor’s son Zooler (Tomer Kapon). So begins a relationship of odd fellows that blossoms into the best medicine Eyal could ever have. Director Asaph Polonsky does a good job of translating his difficult story to the screen. The subject matter gets a little tricky to mix with a comedy, but Polonsky presses the issues and puts together a finale heartfelt enough to make it believable.
The acting by the main cast is quite good with Shai Avivi bringing life into his Eyal Spivak. Getting high becomes more of just medicine to Eyal as his character starts to develop concerns for others than mainly his own grief. Helping him along Tomer Kapon adds the perfect Zooler, who gets his kicks out of seeing Eyal change as the pot starts to take effect. However, Zooler also gets concerned that it’s all not for the right reasons. The chemistry between the two opposites gives the film a lift from the main issue of the loss of a loved one and turns consolation into reverence.
One Week and a Day has not been rated by the MPAA but contains abundant drug use, sexual innuendos, and language. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have many scenes that are inappropriate for youngsters. The film spools out in Hebrew with English subtitles.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good film that should entertain a wide diverse audience. (3.5 stars out of 5)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Shai Avivi, Evgenia Dodina, Tomer Kapon, Alona Shauloff, Sharon Alexander, Carmit Mesilati-Kaplan and Uri Gavriel as Rafael
Directed and written by: Asaph Polonsky
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Foreign (Israeli)
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains drug use, language, sexual material
Running Time: 1 hr. 38 min.
Release Date: May 12, 2017
Distributed by: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Released in: Hebrew with English subtitles