Josef, a 70 year-old, never married, waiter at a Jerusalem cafe, has had little in life. He is tormented by the memory of repeated sexual abuse as a boy of six in Nazi concentration camps. Maria is a religious German Christian woman who does deeds of atonement, such as raising money for the poor in Israel. As a tourist in Israel, she walked into Josef's coffee house one day, and in an instant, Josef's life was turned on its head. A sweet tale of love and romance.
Festivals
- Toronto Jewish Film Festival, Canada, 2009
- Alaska Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2008
- Forum of Israeli Cinema, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2008
- Hamilton Jewish Film Festival, Canada, 2004
Additional info
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Josef & Maria ***1/2
Israeli filmmaker Vered Berman's Josef & Maria is a haunting and deeply moving documentary about love being found in the unlikeliest of places by an unlikely couple. At the center of the story is Josef, a 70-year-old Holocaust survivor who as a child in the concentration camps was repeatedly raped by Nazi guards.
The psychological devastation from the sexual abuse lingered throughout his adult life-Josef never married and preferred to spend his free time alone, while eking out a meager living as a waiter in a Jerusalem cafe. But then fate brought Maria, a German Christian on vacation in Israel, into Josef's caf?. Maria's deep religious beliefs drove her to serve as a one-woman atonement service for the wartime misdeeds of her countrymen, with much of her energies spent raising funds to help Israelis living in poverty. Josef, for the first time in his life, immediately fell in love, and Maria did likewise, helping to mend the pain that Josef had carried for so long. A beautiful, touching film, Josef & Maria offers a compelling confirmation of the old clich? about love conquering all.
Highly recommended.
P.Hall,
The Video Librarian, April, 2008