Esau | |
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Directed by | Pavel Lungin |
Screenplay by | Pavel Lungin Evgeny Ruman |
Based on | Esau by Meir Shalev |
Produced by |
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Starring | Harvey Keitel Shira Haas |
Cinematography | Fred Kelemen |
Edited by | Tim Pavelko |
Music by | Katia Tchemberdji |
Production company | 2-Team Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
Countries | Russia Israel United Kingdom |
Languages | English Russian |
Esau is a 2019 Russian-Israeli-British drama film directed by Pavel Lungin and starring Harvey Keitel and Shira Haas. It is based on Meir Shalev's novel of the same name. [1] [2] [3] [4]
This is Longin's first English-language film. However, it is not the first film in which Longin filmed and worked with Israeli actors; before it, he made the film "The Winner" and also directed the Russian adaptation Rodina of the series Prisoners of War .
The film tells the story of a 40-year-old writer who returns to his family home where he was raised, and he escaped after half a lifetime to face his brother, who stayed instead. After inheriting their family bakery and marrying the woman they both loved.
The film premiered at the 2019 Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. [5]
As a teenager, Asu fled to America. He denies his past but never established new roots. He writes successful books about baking bread, but he never became a true writer. He has no wife, no children, and his large house is empty. A late-night phone call changes his life. He hears a familiar female voice asking for his help. Twenty years later, he returns home. The head of the family was his brother Yaakov, who inherited their father’s bakery, became a father of children, and is now the husband of the woman they both once dreamed of.
Isaac is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob and Esau, and the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jacob, later given the name Israel, is a patriarch regarded as the forefather of the Israelites, according to Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jacob first appears in the Book of Genesis, originating from the Hebrew tradition in the Torah. Described as the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the grandson of Abraham, Sarah, and Bethuel, Jacob is presented as the second-born among Isaac's children. His fraternal twin brother is the elder, named Esau, according to the biblical account. Jacob is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau. Later in the narrative, following a severe drought in his homeland of Canaan, Jacob and his descendants, with the help of his son Joseph, moved to Egypt where Jacob died at the age of 147. He is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah.
The biblical Book of Genesis speaks of the relationship between fraternal twins Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. The story focuses on Esau's loss of his birthright to Jacob and the conflict that ensued between their descendant nations because of Jacob's deception of their aged and blind father, Isaac, in order to receive Esau's birthright/blessing from Isaac.
The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews by its Biblical name Cave of Machpelah and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham, is a series of caves situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jerusalem in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot, although most historians believe the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob narrative to be primarily mythological. The site is considered a holy place in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Harvey Keitel is an American actor known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with director Martin Scorsese, starring in six of his films: Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967), Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and The Irishman (2019).
Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Esau and Jacob reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming to explain why Israel, despite being a younger kingdom, dominated Edom. The Christian New Testament alludes to him in the Epistle to the Romans and in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Leah appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has three more sons, namely Simeon, Levi and Judah, but does not bear another son until Rachel offers her a night with Jacob in exchange for some mandrake root. Leah gives birth to two more sons after this, Issachar and Zebulun, and to Jacob's only daughter, Dinah.
Meir Shalev was an Israeli writer and newspaper columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth. Shalev's books have been translated into 26 languages.
Toledot, Toldot, Toldos, or Toldoth is the sixth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah tells of the conflict between Jacob and Esau, Isaac's passing off his wife Rebekah as his sister, and Isaac's blessing of his sons.
Vayetze, Vayeitzei, or Vayetzei is the seventh weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 28:10–32:3. The parashah tells of Jacob's travels to, life in, and return from Harran. The parashah recounts Jacob's dream of a ladder to heaven, Jacob's meeting of Rachel at the well, Jacob's time working for Laban and living with Rachel and Leah, the birth of Jacob's children, and the departure of Jacob's family from Laban.
Vayishlach is the eighth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. In the parashah, Jacob reconciles with Esau after wrestling with a "man." The prince Shechem rapes Dinah, whose brothers sack the city of Shechem in revenge. In the family's subsequent flight, Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies in childbirth.
Hillel Halkin is an American-born Israeli translator, biographer, literary critic, and novelist who has lived in Israel since 1970.
Pavel Semyonovich Lungin is a Russian film director. He is sometimes credited as Pavel Loungine. Lungin was awarded the distinction People's Artist of Russia in 2008.
Rachel was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt Rebecca was Jacob's mother.
Yossi Abolafia is an Israeli writer and illustrator of children's books, as well as a graphic artist, cartoonist, director and screenwriter of animation films.
Rebecca appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban the Aramean, and she was the granddaughter of Milcah and Nahor, the brother of Abraham. Rebecca and Isaac were one of the four couples that some believe are buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs, the other three being Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Leah. Most scholars have considered Rebecca's historicity uncertain.
Shira Haas is an Israeli actress. She initially gained national prominence for her roles in local film and television, winning two Israeli Ophir Awards out of five nominations since 2014. In 2020, she gained international acclaim for her role in the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox. For this performance, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In the same year, Haas won the Tribeca Film Festival Award for Best International Actress for her performance in the Israeli drama film Asia (2020). She has since starred in the Netflix science fiction series Bodies (2023).
Asia is a 2020 Israeli drama film directed by Ruthy Pribar, starring Alena Yiv and Shira Haas. The film was premiered online at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the awards for Best Actress, Best Cinematography as well as the Nora Ephron Prize. After winning Best Picture at the 30th Israeli Academy Awards, it was automatically submitted as the Israeli entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.