Prior to the event, however, we felt hungry. So, after surveying the local options, we stopped at Pizza Hut and ate a medium pan pizza with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and garlic.
We arrived 10 minutes late, but did not seem to miss much. The event, like previous years, showed subtitles in white, which made them difficult to read from the back. One man stopped the movie momentarily to decrease the projector brightness, which helped, but the event staff need to come up with a solution to change the subtitles from white to yellow.
I struggled to relate to several of the characters; I have lived as a beanpole my entire life. I found Geola, the diet coach, (played by Evelin Hagoel) an unbelievable character, as I did Zehava's (played tenderly by Irit Kaplan) quixotic nutritionist efforts within the local prison. Why would a nutritionist serve only broccoli for the inaugural meal to a captive population? It makes no sense, nutritionally, and any nutritionist worth her salt would know it.
The movie pigeonholes several characters into trite gender and sexual roles; Zehava acquiesces and accepts sumo has no place for women. Gidi (played by Alon Dahan) comes out of the closet. Women, as a whole, do not come out so well in this movie: I cannot remember any really successful women portrayed; they nag, they fail, they acquiesce, they scheme naively. The men also seem stuck. However, through the help of Kitano (wonderfully played by Togo Igawa), they transform themselves mentally--and physically--through embracing their physical stature.
"A Matter of Size" does shine, though. Herzl's (played by Itzik Cohen) desperate pleas to Zehava moved me. The cinematography of rural training and the fights looked gorgeous. I laughed and silently cheered as the sumo trainees walked back into town, getting lots of attention from passers by. The Japanese food (for example, chakonabe) seemed delicious. The subtle sexual flirtation between Herzl's widowed mother Mona (played by Levana Finkelstein) and Kitano seemed believable, as well as Kitano's barely perceptible smiles after his first sumo lesson with Herzl. Zehava's quickly sexualized relationship with Herzl seemed genuine.
"A Matter of Size" has a number of things to like and represents an unconventional story: an Israeli film about Japanese sumo wrestling. I give it 3/5 stars. :o)
After the movie, event organizers opened up an enormous table of treats for attendees, many things handmade, including mochi, lychee jello, lady finger brownies, multiple rice ball treats, fruit, popcorn balls, tea, and coffee--and much more.
This year, the event organizers moved the movie to the basketball gymnasium, which looked new and shiny. They must have had 100-200 people in attendance--a good sign.
Looking forward to mid-July for the festival itself!
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