“Friendship is man’s greatest gift,” wrote Ibn Ezra in Shirat Yisrael, and it is still true today. This was brought home to me very forcefully when my granddaughter Ta’ir Shlomo, a social worker, invited me to a film night on July 26.
“It’s a movie made by the residents of Bayit Balev Jerusalem Retirement Residence” was all she told me, so I was expecting an amateur production in a small hall somewhere.
The first surprise was that it was in a large cinema in Cinema City. The next that there were nearly 300 guests in addition to all the residents, and a lavish food buffet was presented on arrival. Ta’ir seemed to know people everywhere, but to me they were all strangers.
Every seat was taken – residents, staff, relatives. You could feel excitement in the air as the lights went out and we saw the title of the film, Klafta – even with my limited Yiddish, I knew it meant “bitch,” so that was also quite a surprise among these elderly, genteel people.
From the first scene, the movie gripped you. It told the story of a woman we could all recognize – the complainer. Nothing was ever good enough; the staff all had faults; fellow residents continually aggravated her. One day she’d had enough and stormed out – to everyone’s relief.
We follow her to a park, where she comes across three homeless people. She befriends them – offers to buy them a pizza – they welcome her.
So she stays. In the meantime, the residents realize she is missing and, full of guilt, organize search parties to find her. Eventually they do, and embrace her – tell her they missed her, and there is a heartwarming reunion. The three homeless are invited back to the residence for coffee and cake.
It’s a simple story but – unbelievably – I felt tears sliding down my cheeks.
The actors were all residents and were unbelievably professional. Klafta (Hadassah in the film) was played by Carmel Eliav Salmi. Twenty residents and five staff members and a few of the staff’s children, provided the cast. The only one of the residents with acting experience, who is 97 years old, was a Hollywood actress and acting teacher – Bat Sheva Garnet. The others had no acting experience whatsoever.
The script was written by Miri Bocker, based on residents’ stories; and produced by staff members Malka Benziman, Ifat Rave and Liat Housman.
Once a week for six months, the residents met and told their stories. The group chose the leading stories. The actual filming (Hebrew with English subtitles) took four full days (7 a.m.-10 p.m.), with a few months of editing.
The theme was indeed the value of friendship. Each one of us needs to feel love and appreciation, or – like a flower without water – we wither and die. As the movie closed, all those responsible for the film received bouquets of roses.
I will never forget this remarkable evening or the sentiment it embodied – that love makes all hearts gentle.
The writer is the author of 14 books, including her novel The Pomegranate Pendant – which was made into a movie, The Golden Pomegranate. dwaysman@gmail.com; blog: www.dvorawaysman.com