SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL | SFJFF 2010

Mysticism and memory-play collide in this quietly powerful Israeli neo-noir thriller, brilliantly directed by first-time feature filmmaker Omri Givon. Galia (the captivating Reymonde Amsellem) has spent the last year recovering from a terrorist bus bombing, and as one would imagine, the extent of her trauma is profound. She suffers from unbearable burn scars that cover her back, intermittent panic attacks and a fractured memory. When her boyfriend Oren—also a victim of the attack—is removed from life support, Galia must remember the events that surrounded the bombing in order to move forward with her life. An unfamiliar necklace, a patient and handsome stranger named Boaz (Eldad Fribas) and the newfound knowledge that a rescue worker had pronounced her dead for a total of seven minutes all might help her unlock the key to her past.

Galia is an enigma to herself, to her friends and at times even to us. But Amsellem is mesmerizing, and we cannot take our eyes off her . . . nor should we. With subtle clues woven into a deeply intricate plot that traverses time and space, Seven Minutes in Heaven is the kind of film a Sudoku addict would love. Watching it is like groping for an infinitely satisfying truth under the shroud of darkness. Seven Minutes in Heaven truly earns its title’s delightful double entendre.
—Shira Zucker

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