By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — Princess, an Israeli film making its DVD debut May 24, deals with an uncomfortable subject: the sexual abuse of children in their homes. In this case, 12-year-old Adar (Shira Haas) likes to have tickle fights with Michael (Ori Pfefer), the boyfriend of her mother Alma (Keren Mor). But after Adar begins menstruating, Michael’s interest in Adar becomes increasingly sexual.
Although she sees her mother and Michael engaging in foreplay, and later hears them grunting and moaning in her mother’s bedroom, sex is a troubling mystery to Adar, who had become rebellious ever since her mother’s divorce.
Once a good student, she now cuts numerous classes and spends many unsupervised hours either alone, or in Michael’s “care.” One day, exploring the rooftop of an apartment building, she sees two boys “play fighting” on the street and realizes that one of them, Alan (Adar Zohar-Hanetz) is her doppelganger.
They fall in together almost immediately, and when Adar realizes that Alan has been living on the street, she invites him to come live with her family and share her bed – to which Adar’s mother surprisingly offers no objections.
This raises the issue of whether Alan was simply a fantasy of Adar’s. Unable to define and resist Michael’s sexual interest in her, could Alma be fantasizing herself in a stronger male body and able to physically defend himself? As one might expect the two youngsters explore their sexuality during the nights, but they stop far short of sexual intercourse–a fantasy in keeping, perhaps, with the limits of Adar’s sexual knowledge.
“After reading the script, people asked me, ‘Is this boy real or is he fantasy? You need to clarify this’.” Filmmaker Tali Shalom-Ezer relates in publicity materials. “But for me it was important to keep the boy as a riddle, as magic, as something that I don’t completely understand. I did know, however, that this boy, Alan was essential for my main character, Adar, and to the consolidation of her identity. I was driven by a desire to understand her and explore the dynamics that exist within her family.”
Adar’s mother is a hard-working nurse, who can’t quite grasp the pain Michael is causing her daughter. She even is jealous of the attention that Michael pays to Adar – believing falsely that Adar is competing with her for his attention.
When Alan comes into the home, we find that Michael, an out-of-work teacher who fancies himself an artist, is also fascinated by him. He is an equal opportunity sexual predator, and this is what precipitates a crisis.
While the film deals with intimate sexuality, director Shalom-Ezer is careful not to allow it to descend into exploitation of the young actors. She thereby raises a sensitive issue without, in its portrayal, being guilty of the same offense.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)