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HEBREW | 90 MINUTES | KENDALL SQUARE + WEST NEWTON

This film from Israel straddles two unlikely genres: the heartfelt religious story and the screwball comedy. Director Gidi Dar blends the two together so that by the end it almost works as a sentimental moral fable. An Orthodox Jewish couple desperately need money to celebrate Sukkoth, and it seems their prayers have been answered by an anonymous check until the "miracle" is eclipsed by the unexpected arrival of troublemaking guests. At first exasperated, the couple eventually regard their visitors as a test from God, and they rise to the challenge of being the perfect hosts. Their exasperation is shared by the viewer as the cartoonishly annoying guests dominate scene after scene, pitting their painful antics against their hosts’ saintly behavior. Although the devoutly religious couple are sympathetic and touching, they can’t wrest this film away from their obnoxious alter egos.