Kadosh

Kadosh has proved to be one of the more angry films that I have watched this semester thus far. The New York Times has even referred to the film as a “psychological horror story,” due to the outraged image of the ultra-orthodox community that the filmmaker portrays. Critiques like these have caused me to question, is this film anti-religious or is it not? There are numerous arguments on both sides, but I truly believe that it is not anti-religious. I do believe, however, that it criticizes the Orthodox way of patriarchal misogyny. There are countless instances that I will delve into later that show this criticism, but in the end the film still does not have an anti-religious tone to it that many critics have accused it to have. Some have accused the misogyny to be caused by the ultra-Orthodox teachings, but I truly think it is just a classic story of men who just want their women to reproduce so their name doesn’t disappear. The men in the film want to reproduce so their sect doesn’t disappear. It is a parallel that is hard to see because the film has very harsh images of women being objectified by men. However, this doesn’t just happen because of a specific religious sect, this happens everyday to women. What does the religion have to do with it? I have seen numerous instances in other films, books, and real life cases where this same story happens, and the characters aren’t religious whatsoever. The filmmaker, Amos Gitai, writes almost in the voice of a woman, who is married (or getting married) to a man whom is bound by ancient teachings. She has rebellious thoughts, as any woman does, but she never acts on them. The women in the film act out in different ways. For example, Malka is forced to marry a zealot, despite the fact that she’s in love with someone outside of her sect. In reaction to this, she does the only thing she thinks she can control in her life: she cuts her hair. The scene was brutal to watch, but in a way it made me feel happy for her