Felix and Meira

Unfolding on snowy sidewalks and beneath overcast skies, “Felix and Meira” watches ever so closely as a young Hasidic wife and mother is tempted by the quirky charms of a wayward older man. Yet this tenderly observed love story isn’t about religion — or its lack — but about the attraction of difference and the undeniable need to feel alive. That’s something that Meira (Hadas Yaron) clearly longs for; chafing against the restrictions imposed by her Orthodox community, and weary of being scolded by her bewildered husband, Shulem (Luzer Twersky).  Though set in present-day Montreal, this tender romance unfolds like an episode from another century, paying the sort of careful attention to social boundaries you’d expect to find in a classic forbidden-love novel. It “distinguishes itself through its subtlety and sensitivity, offering quiet reflection for festival and arthouse audiences”. (Peter Debruge, Variety)

Canada 2014, 105 mins, English, Yiddish, French (sub-titles)

Director Maxime Giroux featuring Martin Dubreuil, Luzer Twersky, Hadas Yaron