Jason goes to Jewfest North--Day 13

Another night, another movie. Actually, a short and a feature, both from the U.K.

First up, in the short MY AMULET, Leah Thorn uses family home movies and rhythmic spoken verse to humorously explore what it means to be a British Jew.

Then the feature, BROKEN LINES, is a story of love, grief and loyalty. When Jake meets B, two things are immediately obvious--they will have an affair, and it will not end well. He's a wealthy real estate developer, he's engaged, and his father just died. She's a waitress, and married to a paralyzed ex-boxer (Paul Bettany, in a darker role than I've ever seen him in). Jake only stopped into the cafe where B works because he was settling the affairs with his father's old shop. And the quick, illicit attraction is heightened when he discovers that the upstairs window of the empty shop has a clear view into her apartment. While the affair isn't physical at first--they just meet after work and talk--there's still a clear understanding that this is cheating, and they both lie to their partners. And B lies to Jake, telling him she's not married and the ring is just a family heirloom, although he quickly learns the truth by spying on them. As I said, it's inevitable that they will get physical, and it's inevitable that it will be a horribly painful choice. I can't think of another romance where I was rooting against the leads more. At least they learn a lesson--Jake's dad always used to say that "all choice results in a loss". Jake learns that only the bad choices do.