Product Details

• Actors: Fanny Valette, Elsa Zylberstein, Bruno Todeschini, Hédi Tillette de Clermont-Tonerre, Sonia Tahar
• Directors: Karin Albou
• Writers: Karin Albou
• Producers: Isabelle Pragier, Laurent Lavolé
• Format: PAL
• Language: Arabic, French, Hebrew
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Palace Films
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000NA6W04
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,489 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Little Jerusalem (La Petite Jérusalem) [NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Australia released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Hebrew ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: With candor, sympathy and excellent cinematography, 'La Petite Jerusalem' reflects on the bodies of two sisters in Sarcelles, a drab Parisian suburb called home by an enclave of Orthodox Jewish immigrants. Laura (Fanny Valette) leans toward the secular; she is skeptical, a student of philosophy and falling in love with a mustachioed Algerian named Djamel (Hedi Tillette de Clermont-Tonnerre). Mathilde (Elsa Zylberstein), her sister, is devout, but conflicted by dual fidelities to God and husband (Bruno Todeschini). The latter, sexually frustrated, is no longer faithful. Can faith be reconciled with foreplay? The writer-director, Karin Albou, opens up the intimate physical and psychological spaces of these two strong women through a style indebted to the sophisticated impressionism of Claire Denis and Lucrecia Martel. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, Ceasar Awards, ...Little Jerusalem ( La Petite Jérusalem )

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A Fantasy Of Fusion" ~ Concerning Thought, Belief, God And The Continuity Of Tradition, March 30, 2007

By 

Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: La Petite Jerusalem (DVD)

Note: French and Hebrew with English subtitles.

`La Petite Jerusalem' released in '05 is an intelligent, thoughtful and articulate exploration of the question "What is reason capable of." In the context of this film it appears to be capable of luring Laura (Fanny Valette), an educated free thinking philosophy student out of the protective confines of her Orthodox Jewish community and blantantly defying its traditions to pursue a romantic relationship with a Moslem co-worker. While most of the ensuing chaos that occurs over such a relationship is predictable, the ongoing philosophical/religious debate between Laura and her trusted confidant Mathilde (Elsa Zylberstein) are quite penetrating and insightful. Those sequences along with the subplot concerning Mathilde and her struggle to faithfully follow the teachings of the Torah while adequately fulfilling her husbands physical desires are my favorite moments in the film.

`La Petite Jerusalem' provides a fascinating peek into modern Jewish culture which makes it definitely worth a watch whether you're of the Jewish persuasion or not.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To See Paris -and make off., July 29, 2007

By 

Michael Kerjman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Jerusalem ( La Petite Jérusalem ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ] (DVD)

Nowadays story of conforming the traditional believes while following natural urges and lust unleashed on a screen explicitly during last decades of a sexual revolution, human rights achievements and HIV invasion, is filmed in a Jewish quarter of modern Paris (regrettably, I had found neither profoundly Jewish subway line nor a district in situ, also some areas were still really, visually, more predominantly Hasidim-inhabited), mitzvah counseling, anti-Semitism on rise, exodus from and a loyalty to a country one lives in.

Interference with "a boy from the Musk", an Algerian journalist illegally residing in France at mercy of traditional parents, adds a pepper to a story of ready-for-marriage philosophy student's sexual desires.

Although both contextually and visually modern Israeli topic-related movies are much more graphic, a viewer would have been attracted with a female charm of actresses performing.

This work is interesting for broadening knowledge of a contemporary French Jewry.

5.0 out of 5 stars A physically beautiful, touching character portrait and love story, June 12, 2010

By 

K. Gordon - See all my reviews
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This review is from: La Petite Jerusalem (DVD)

A simple story beautifully shot and well acted.

A girl from an close knit orthodox Jewish family in Paris falls for a mysterious, quiet Arab man.

It's familiar territory, but done so sensually, and with such rich sense of detail that it feels completely fresh. A glimpse into a closed off world, where people cling to traditions in both fear and pride, leading to an almost incestuous over-involvement in each other's lives.

Great use of close-up image throughout, adding texture, and intimacy. That rare film that gives such a sense of place it's like you can smell the air of the rooms of the family's apartment.