SAINT CLARA
(CLARA HAKDOSHA)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
It's 1999 and all is not well at the Golda Meir School. Some trouble maker has found out the answers to the questions on the big quiz and has given them to every kid in the class. The principal (Yigal Naor), who dresses like a Mafia don, and the teacher (Joe El Dror) are mad at the students. They are angry at the class's cheating, but they are even angrier that the class is so stupid. Every pupil has answered every question correctly and derived the answers in exactly the same way.
After thinking about it, the principal decides this constitutes a revolt. The kids are trying to break the system, but he will break the students first. Through hardball interrogations right out of Kafka, he eventually solves the mystery. It seems that Clara, hence the film's name SAINT CLARA (CLARA HAKDOSHA), can see the future.
I saw SAINT CLARA at San Jose's Cinequest film festival. The Israelis loved the film, having given it their "Israeli Oscar" for best picture for 1996.
Lucy Dubinchik, in an enchanting performance, plays Clara. Clara is a thirteen-year-old Russian emigrant, whose omniscient powers were passed down from her Uncle Elvis. It seems that she will keep the power until she falls in love. Tikel (Halil Elohev) is already in love with her so he could be the one to break the spell. Then again, the principal, when he is not reminiscing about his imaginary affair with Edith Piaf, also seems to be falling for Clara. With her looks, anyone in the film is a candidate to go for her.
The film is set in an ugly, out-of-the-way, industrial city. Their school is infested with graffiti, and one of the kids is a skinhead who carries a baseball bat. I thought this whole urban tough kid part was unnecessary and detracted from the rest of the story. I could have done without the vandalism scene and the one where the skinhead hits another kid with the bat.
The film has lots of subplots and far too many of them are blind alleys where the screenwriter (Pavel Kohout) never should have taken us. Nevertheless, the heart of the story is charming and full of imagination and surprises. In one of the best scenes, Tikel's dad (Menashe Noy) talks Clara into telling him the six lottery numbers. The result is somewhat predictable, but still hilarious.
If you've ever wondered what seismographers do in the wee hours while waiting for the needles to move, this show reveals the secret. It also tells you what pattern an earthquake makes on the seismograph.
Overall, a cute show with a perfect ending. The film even has the most innocent and romantic teen kiss that I have seen in a movie in over a decade.
SAINT CLARA runs just 1:24. The film is in Hebrew and Russian with easy to follow English subtitles. It is not rated, but might get an R for the little violence plus the fact that the kids take colored pills. It is a harmless picture that would be suitable for any teenager. I recommend it to you. I give the film ** 1/2.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: February 3, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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