TAHARA

US, 2020, 78 minutes, Colour.

Madeline Grey De Freece, Rachel Sennot, Daniel Taveras.

Directed by Olivia Peace.

The title refers to some of the rituals for burial in the Jewish tradition.

The burial at the centre of this film is that of a teenage student who has killed herself. The action takes place at the ceremony and at a class on rituals afterwards.

At the centre of this film, brief, to fellow students. There is a focus on Carrie, rather reserved, but best friends with Hannah. The two are played by – and a reminder that at the same time Rebecca played the precocious young woman, also at funeral ritual, Shiva Baby.

Most of the film is conversation. In fact, it is girl-chat, girl-gossip. Carrey is tentative in her relationships, discovering her sexuality and sexual orientation, attracted towards Hannah but also finding her very difficult. Hannah, on the other hand, is out there, chatting all during the ritual, looking about in making comment on those present, imagining that the young man is attracted to her when he isn’t, she rather flaunting herself. She is self-centred, self-preoccupied, prone to literal pratfalls as well as conversation gaps.

Besides the girl chat, there is also some boy-chat between the young man and Hannah, Hannah making a fool of herself, the young man bewildered.

A lot of the chat is about identity, sexuality, relationships, self-discovery.

A film for its target audience, the age of its characters. Other audiences might lose interest.