Yussef Abu Warda Movies

An orphan raised on the dubious kindness of his neighbors, Mabruq is considered the village idiot, tolerated, but not loved. He is secretly in love with Jamilah, a young woman held in similar regard because she has not spoken since witnessing a traumatic event as a child. All business in the village is controlled by a tyrannical muktahr, while the region is controlled by Israeli soldiers. The corrupt village leader does all he can to keep the Israelis pleased so when they announce that someone has been counterfeiting work permits, the muktahr is quick to find someone to blame. The leader's friend and handyman Mahmmud disagrees with the muktahr's scapegoat tactics and so decides to do his own investigation to find the real crook. This ultimately leads to the mysterious death of the muktahr's son. Mahmmud is blamed for the death and escapes from town. Poor Mabruq, who felt that Mahmmud was his only friend, is devastated. Meanwhile the muktahr, seeing that his seething villagers may take actions that could destroy peace, is forced to make a difficult decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A dark drama of women living in a society where they are second-class citizens, Kadosh/Sacred begins with Meir, an Orthodox Jew living in the Mea Shearim district of Jerusalem, greeting the day with his morning prayers, which includes the phrase, "Thank you, oh Lord, for not having made me a woman." Meir begins to understand just how poorly regarded women can be in the Orthodox faith when his rabbi suggests he should leave his wife. Meir and Rivka (Yael Abecassis) have been married for ten years and have a solid relationship based on affection and mutual respect. However, they have been unable to have children, and as Meir is reminded, the Talmud says a woman without children may as well be dead. Consequently, the rabbi advises Meir to divorce Rivka and take up with a younger woman who can give him a family. Meanwhile, Rivka's younger sister, Malka (Meital Barda), is soon to wed Yossef (Uri Ran Klauzner) in a match arranged by their parents, even though Malka loves another man, Yaakov (Sami Hori), who has dared to question the teachings of the Orthodox faith. Yossef soon proves to be blind to Malka's emotional and physical needs, and she begins to wonder how long she can continue to live within this circle, even though it is the only world she knows. Destined to be controversial in its native Israel, Kadosh/Sacred was shown in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide