The Decade List: Or (Mon trésor) (2004)

Or (Mon trésor) [Or (My Treasure)] – dir. Keren Yedaya

Keren Yedaya’s debut feature Or (My Treasure) is a truly disconcerting experience, surprising and bold. For starters, the frame never moves; each shot is taken from a stationary camera that exposes with crisp precision every unflattering detail. The story, about a woman who can’t bring herself to quit pulling tricks and her daughter who can't bear to see her mother waste away to that lifestyle, sounds familiar. However, the emotional and personal conflicts within the daughter, Or, make for juicy, complex cinema. Ronit Elkabetz (so perfect in Late Marriage) and Dana Ivfy, who also play a separate mother/daughter pair in Yedaya’s 2009 Jaffa, deliver some wonderful, difficult performances. Or (My Treasure) has the ability to quietly disturb and revolt.

With: Ronit Elkabetz, Dana Ivgy, Meshar Cohen, Katia Zinbris, Shmuel Edelman, Sarit Vino-Elad
Screenplay: Sari Ezouz, Keren Yedaya
Cinematography: Laurent Brunet
Country of Origin: Israel/France
US Distributor: Kino

Premiere: 17 May 2004 (Cannes Film Festival)
US Premiere: 5 October 2004 (New York Film Festival)

Awards: Caméra d’Or, Critics Week Grand Prize, Prix regards jeune (Cannes Film Festival); Best Actress – Dana Ivgy (Awards of the Israeli Film Academy); Best Israeli Feature (Jerusalem Film Festival); New Voices/New Visions Special Mention (Palm Springs International Film Festival)