Header image  
World Films Collection  
 
    home 
 

La Petite Jerusalem (Little Jerusalem)

 

  Written and Directed by Karin Albou

France 2005 / Drama / Coming-of-Age / 94 min / Color / Dolby 5.1 / 1.85: 1 Widescreen Anamorphic / NTSC /  In French and Hebrew with Optional English Subtitles

Fanny Valette, Elsa Zylberstein, Bruno Todeschini , Hedi Tillette DeClermont Tonnerre, Sonia Tahar

An orthodox Jewish teen living with her family in France attempts to balance her religious upbringing with her increasingly complex view of the outside world in director Karin Albou's incisive meditation on religion, philosophy, and the weight of romance on the mind of a growing girl. Eighteen-year-old student Laura (Fanny Valette) lives with her widowed mother (Sonia Tahar), her sister (Elsa Zylberstein), and her brother-in-law (Bruno Todeschini) in the suburban Paris neighborhood of Sarcelles. Though her exposure to the world thus far has been culturally limited due to the fact that her family resides in a neighborhood is often referred to as "Little Jerusalem" due to its large Jewish population, Laura's studies have told her that the world is full of interesting and diverse people. An overly serious and self-disciplined girl whose outward maturity defies her youthful age, Laura vows to avoid romance before finding that fate doesn't always play by the rules.

 
       

Bonus Features:

An interview with Karin Albou
Theatrical trailer
Stills gallery