Reviews » Einaym Pkuhot (Eyes Wide Open)
Keep your eyes open
Aaron (Strauss) is a respected butcher in the ultra Orthodox Jewish community of Jerusalem. He is married to Rivka (Tinkerbel), and is a devoted father to five children. As butcher to the ultra Orthodox community, Aaron must not only select animals free from blemish for slaughter, but must be free from sin himself to provide kosher meat to the strict religious community that he serves.
Many times during the course of the tale to unfold in the Israeli film Eyes Wide Open, Aaron is called a “righteous man” by his rabbi and those in his prayer group, and is even asked to participate in bullying others into “proper” moral behavior. While the non-Orthodox Jewish viewers of this film may see Aaron as a good, holy man before and even during his blossoming attraction for the 19 year old homeless yeshiva student Ezri (Danker) who appears in Aaron’s life one rainy evening, in the eyes of more rigid haredi, Aaron was sinning long before he took Ezri under his wing.
According to the Ten Commandments, it is a sin against G-d to worship graven images. For this reason, many ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic Jews do not keep pictures or mirrors in their homes. Aaron, on the other hand, delights in pictures of those things that please him most. Before meeting Ezri, Aaron comes home from work to see his children completing a jigsaw puzzle depicting a colorful, happy ultra-Orthodox family at the dinner table, nearly identical to Aaron’s own. What draws Aaron close to Ezri is not only physical attraction, but the fact that Ezri loves pictures as well. In fact, Ezri creates pictures; he is constantly drawing pencil sketches of men, thus revealing his status as a sinner long before he reveals his homosexual attraction, and tempting Aaron into regressing from holy family man to vain, selfish sinner. The deal is sealed when Ezri wants to draw Aaron, and Aaron takes Ezri on as an apprentice in his butcher shop, even allowing him to sleep in the shop.
One could blame the rabbi for Aaron’s regression, for the rabbi will set the moral standard for the entire community. The rabbi took a wishy-washy stance on sin; he told his followers that those who sin without knowing should be forgiven, that people make mistakes, and those who sin in the attempt to do good should be brought to light. Aaron follows his rabbi’s teachings, and uses them as a justification to take in Ezri as an apprentice in order to steer him toward a holy life. Other men in the community, however, demand a stricter standard of morality and take matters into their own hands to put pressure on the sinners in their community. One young man, Israel Fischman, receives heavy handed treatment from this gang—as well as the rabbi—for having an affair with a young woman who is already betrothed to be married. Aaron also participates in the bullying of Israel, as he perceives Israel’s lack of restraint as a threat to the girl’s future marriage and thus destructive to a family unit. How easy it is for Aaron to find fault in others, when he neglects his role as husband and father while spending time with Ezri. In fact, it is not the men, but Aaron’s wife Rivka who demands an investigation of Aaron and a visit from the morality police.
Rivka is portrayed as a modest, faithful ultra-Orthodox wife who is softspoken around Aaron and her children. In the bedroom, however, Rivka becomes a temptress. She will uncover her hair and brush it in front of the bedroom mirror so that she as well as Aaron can enjoy the sensuality of the act. When this ritual no longer yields results, Rivka remains the good wife; she shows no disrespect to her husband, but will conduct a quiet investigation and address this issue with the rabbi. In the end, the morality police are on to Aaron. They plaster posters around the neighborhood questioning the kosherness of the meat that Aaron sells due to his unclean apprentice. (It is interesting to note that the holy butcher Aaron eats no meat from his shop until “unclean” apprentice Ezri begins to handle it.) The morality police confront Aaron and Ezri with shouts and fists, sending Ezri off into exile once again into the dark rainy night. While Aaron tries to resume a righteous life without Ezri, he realizes that it is impossible. In the same hidden spring where Ezri ignited Aaron’s lust, Aaron immerses himself, never to be cleansed from impurity, but instead to drown in a pool of it.
Eyes Wide Open is a multidimensional film, yet deceptively simple; images, lighting, and colors speak louder than the dialogue. While the storyline seems to focus on the developing love affair between two men, Eyes Wide Open is more of a story about the dynamics and rules within a traditional religious community and what happens when deviance takes place within that community. While it is not necessary to know everything about Orthodox Judaism to appreciate the film, some knowledge of Judaism will help the viewer decode the symbolism. For this reason, Eyes Wide Open may be more appropriate to show at a Jewish film festival than a gay film festival.
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