Jellyfish (film)
Encyclopedia
Jellyfish is a 2007 Israel
i film
based on a story by Shira Geffen and directed by her husband, Etgar Keret
. The film tells the story of three women in Tel Aviv
whose intersecting lives paint a pessimistic portrait of Israeli secular life. Batya, a waitress at weddings, comes across a mute child who seemingly emerges out of the sea. Keren, a bride whose wedding Batya worked at, breaks her leg climbing out of bathroom stall and ruins her dream honeymoon in the process. And Joy, a Filipina domestic, attends to her employer with whom she struggles to communicate. Poetic imagery draws connections between the lives of these women, all of whom find solace in the sea.
Jellyfish was the winner of the 2007 Camera d'Or
at the Cannes Film Festival
, the Official Selection at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, and the Official Selection at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival
. The film stars Sarah Adler and Gera Sandler. The DVD release date was September 30, 2008.
reported that 88% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 49 reviews.
Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 68 out of 100, based on 11 reviews.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
based on a story by Shira Geffen and directed by her husband, Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting for film and television.-Personal Life:Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child to parents who survived the Holocaust. He lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Shira Geffen, and...
. The film tells the story of three women in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
whose intersecting lives paint a pessimistic portrait of Israeli secular life. Batya, a waitress at weddings, comes across a mute child who seemingly emerges out of the sea. Keren, a bride whose wedding Batya worked at, breaks her leg climbing out of bathroom stall and ruins her dream honeymoon in the process. And Joy, a Filipina domestic, attends to her employer with whom she struggles to communicate. Poetic imagery draws connections between the lives of these women, all of whom find solace in the sea.
Jellyfish was the winner of the 2007 Camera d'Or
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections ....
at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, the Official Selection at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, and the Official Selection at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
. The film stars Sarah Adler and Gera Sandler. The DVD release date was September 30, 2008.
Themes
The film begins and ends with the little girl in the presence of its main character, Batya at the sea- when first it appears, coming out, and ending with her following the tot into it, almost drowning. Instead her friend Malka pulls her out. She is revived, appearing relieved to find that she still has her friend.Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews from Western critics. The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 88% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 49 reviews.
Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 68 out of 100, based on 11 reviews.
External links
- Seret.co.il - Israel Movie Website entry (Hebrew)
- Israeli Film Fund - Israeli Film Fund website entry (Hebrew)
- http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/film.php?directoryname=jellyfish - Zeitgeist Films official site
- Baseline Research (A Part of The New York Times Co.) - budget entry