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Eyes Wide Open (2009, written by Merav Doster and directed by Haim Tabakman) is a gay love story / tragedy that takes place in a traditional Hasidic Jerusalem community. It is a relatable story of a man who considers his fleshly lust for other men to be something that, by constantly overcoming it, makes him stronger in his faith. He is so screwed up by his feelings that he fools himself into believing that this is something that sets him above others; this of course leads him to a place where he finds himself out of control, but ultimately, happy.

The film is not necessarily sympathetic but probably will be interpreted as so. The performances were was great. The pacing was slow but intentionally so and riveting nonetheless. There some amazing shots, too – one of them, a shot of a reflection in the window of a van, is still strong in my memory. Nothing in this story was especially surprising yet it was still satisfying and powerful. It was also pretty erotic in a pretty unconventional way.