Asia’s motherhood has always been an ongoing struggle rather than an obvious instinct. Becoming a mother at a very early age has shaped Asia’s relationship with her teenage daughter Vika. Despite living together, Asia and Vika barely interact with one another. Asia concentrates on her job as a nurse while Vika hangs out at the skate-park with her friends. Their routine is shaken when Vika’s health deteriorates rapidly. Asia must step in and become the mother Vika so desperately needs. Vika’s illness turns out to be an opportunity to reveal the great love within this small family unit.
With her huge eyes and delicate physique, Shira Haas made an indelible impression (she was nominated for an Emmy and won an Independent Spirit Award) as the lead in the recent TV series Unorthodox. Here she stars as a Russian émigré to Israel, navigating her teenage years with her single mother (Alena Yiv), burdened by an illness that makes all of her decisions infinitely more poignant.
First-time writer-director Ruthy Pribar does an exquisite job of defining the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship that eschews clichés and sentimentality. Instead, both actresses give riveting, yet understated performances that explore the inevitable chasm that divides the generations and creates barriers between the healthy and the sick—while limning a universal and timeless story of maternal love and loss.
Length: 85 minutes
Cast: Shira Haas, Alena Yiv, Tamir Mula, Gera Sandler
Director: Ruthy Pribar
Writer: Ruthy Pribar
