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FILM REVIEW: Willful manipulation
A woman’s well-planned suicide on Passover annoys her ex-husband and leads to the accidental discovery of a dark secret from her past in the Mexican drama "Nora’s Will"—one of several films featured at the Kansas City Jewish Film Festival, March 5–13.
Like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, an older woman stands in front of her apartment window and spies on an older man across the street as he sits in his apartment. In the midst of this creepiness, she meticulously sets out an elaborate dinner setting, prepares an entire meal, and mysteriously organizes all of her old photographs and letters before locking them away. Then she kills herself. It’s an eerie start to the 2008 Mexican drama Nora’s Will, which will make its Kansas City debut at 7:30 p.m., March 7, as part of the Kansas City Jewish Film Festival.
It’s on a Thursday, the day before Passover begins, when Jose Kurtz (Fernando Lujan) discovers the body of his 63-year-old ex-wife, Nora. After a lifetime of repeated suicide attempts, Nora’s death barely even fazes Jose, who is more perturbed than anything else. He learns from an elderly rabbi that if they don’t bury her by 3 p.m. they will have to wait until Sunday to bury her, which they have to do if he wants to wait on his spineless son, Ruben (Ari Brickman) to return from vacation.
Despite his frustration, Jose volunteers to stay with Nora’s body until a young rabbinical student arrives to say prayers over her. As time passes in her apartment, Jose realizes everything is unfolding according to Nora’s plans. In retaliation, he purposely interferes so she can’t have her way, including making plans to bury her in a Christian cemetery rather than a Jewish one.
Nora did make one mistake when an old photograph fell onto the floor without her knowledge. This photograph, which Jose finds, leads to a dark secret that will either tear everyone apart or serve to reunify family and friends.
Nora’s Will is described as a dark comedy/drama. The first part is problematic because even dark comedy is supposed to generate some laughs; the humor in Nora’s Will is drier and more barren than Chile’s Atacama Desert. On the flip side, the dramatic elements are pulled off with skillful subtlety, punctuated by Lujan. Jose has turned into an atheist in his older years and seems to have lost any zeal for life. Lujan flushes this out with nothing less than a superb performance.
The pacing for Nora’s Will does drag a little and its character development is less than desirable. We know little about Nora herself and the story could have been bolstered if more time had been devoted to when she and Jose were a young married couple.
On a letter grade scale from “A” being excellent to “F” for failing, Nora’s Will receives a C+.
Nora’s Will is unrated and has a running time of 92 minutes.
The Kansas City Jewish Film Festival opens at 7:30 p.m., March 5, with a presentation of the award-winning Argentinian film Anita. All films will be shown at the White Theater inside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, 5801 W. 115th St., Overland Park, KS 66211. Individual screenings are $9 per person or $54 for a Festival Pass. For the complete line-up and to buy tickets, visit www.kcjff.org, or contact Victor Wishna at 913-327-4646 or victorw@jewishkc.org.
Nora’s Will is tentatively scheduled to begin a run on March 18 at Tivoli Cinemas.
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for more information.
Indie Film Editor
Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.
In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.
Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.
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