Felix and Meira (2014) Félix et Meira
Cast includes: Martin Dubreuil (7 Days), Hadas Yaron (Fill the Void), Luzer Twersky (Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish)
Writer/Director: Maxine Giroux (Demain)
Genre: Drama | Romance (105 minutes) French with subtitles
Before we meet Meira, we meet her Hasidic Jewish family… it’s Shabbat and her husband, Shulem, blesses the wine. They’re not rich, but the couple can afford some nice status symbols… his wide-brimmed fur hat, her pearls, for example. Meira looks bored. We meet Félix when he comes to his father’s house for the first time in 10 years… and probably the last time… since his father is dying. “We should talk before you go.” “Who’s that,” his father asks. It’s not a reunion that leaves Felix with positive feelings. The bleak, snowy Montreal streets seem even colder than ever, but the kosher deli might have something to warm the soul. Maybe not… coffee and soup is about all that appeals… other than the young woman with the toddler sitting on the side. “My father’s going to die,” he says to her. She recoils. But it’s not the inappropriate conversation that bother’s her… Meira would never talk to a strange man… ever. He tries to start again by admiring the drawing the child is doing, but Meira grabs her child and leaves.
At home, Meira is fascinated by the sound of the mousetrap snapping shut. When Shulem asks her why she keeps snapping it again and again, she says, “I like the sound it makes.” It’s her favorite sound until Shulem leaves for work the next day. After lowering the blinds, she retrieves her favorite record and puts it on the record player… “After Laughter Comes Tears” by Wendy Rene. “What are you doing?” he wants to know. Too bad for Meira… Shulem had to come back for something. “You broke your promise. Are you trying to humiliate us even further?” Meira, it seems, hasn’t been a perfect Hasidic Jewish wife. The community can’t figure out why Meira isn’t pregnant again. “My father died today,” says Felix when he sees Meira again. “Don’t speak to us.” “You’re religious… can’t you give me some advice?” Felix was never very religious, but he’s a lapsed Jew. At a time like this, he wishes faith could comfort him. Meira really mustn’t talk to this strange man… but eventually, baby step by baby step… Felix and Meira find connections.
In the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in movies featuring ultra orthodox Jews. Filmmakers are fascinated with the idea of closed societies and how individuals from those societies relate to each other as well as those on the outside. Felix and Meira is another example of the genre. Although it’s interesting, it doesn’t come up to the level of some of the others, for example, Fill the Void by Rama Burshtein, also starring Hadas Yaron. While there were some interesting details in Felix and Meira, it felt like the plot motivation was forced. While most of us probably look at Meira’s life and want to see her escape, the issues are complex, and this film glosses over a lot. At one point Shulem is alone in their apartment when he hears that sound Miera always liked… the sound of the mousetrap snapping shut. But since she’s not home, he’s the one who has to deal with the pitiful little mouse that’s trapped but very much alive. “The world is a cruel place, my friend.”
2 popped kernels
An unlikely friendship: Hasidic Jewish woman and an “outsider”
Popcorn Profile
Rated: R
Audience: Grown-ups
Gender Style: Neutral
Distribution: Art House
Mood: Sober
Tempo: Cruises Comfortably
Visual Style: Unvarnished Realism
Nutshell: Hasidic woman and an “outsider”
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Thought Provoking
