Lemon without any zest

Ushpizin means "holy guests", but the guests of Moshe are hardly that. He is an Orthodox Jew who, as a test of worthiness, allows two friends who are on the run from the police to stay during Succoth, the annual festival commemorating the Exodus.

Moshe has added troubles: he has got no money to buy one of the temporary dwellings that religious Jews must stay in during the festival, and he's childless after several years of marriage.

Fortunately, a charity gives him $1,000 and he buys an expensive lemon, said to encourage conception. But his two friends almost muck things up comprehensively by using the precious fruit on their salad.

This isolated world lived according to the rules of the Torah is illustrated by director Gidi Dar with the help of good performances from Shuli Rand (who also wrote the screenplay), and his real-life partner, Michal Bat Shiva Rand, as Moshe and his wife. The whole is a unique experience, though a bit awkwardly done at times.

Ushpizin
Cert: PG