Song of Songs

Ruth is a pious, unmarried young woman. She has just returned from Israel, where she cared for her dying mother. Her difficult brother David has withdrawn from the family and teaches English. Although he has distanced himself from his religious past, he remains a very moralistic and lonely young man who avoids profound contact with the outside world. At the request of her mother, Ruth goes looking for her brother, whom she has not seen for three years. After much quarrelling, he agrees to return to the family home – on his own terms. An intense and complicated sparring match between brother and sister ensues. Following its première at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Song of Songs was rightly greeted by glowing reviews. Natalie Press (who earlier starred in My Summer of Love) and Joel Chalfen lay down a very convincing portrayal of the complex brother-sister relationship in an orthodox Jewish environment. The film investigates the relationship between faith and violence, denial and desire. This impressive feature début by Josh Appignanesi displays a great deal of courage: intimacy is linked with secularity, and we are given a delicate and subtle insight into painful family relations and the suppression of erotic feelings. Critic Steve O’Hagan put it this way: ‘Credible performances and uncompromising hand-held photography – a tough, intimate and intense portrayal of incest and apostasy in Jewish north London.’ (EH)