Next to Her

Basing her screenplay on her own experiences, Liron Ben-Shlush presents some poignant insights into dealing with a sister with severe learning difficulties in husband Asaf Korman's debut feature. Determined to protect her mentally disabled sister Gabby (Dana Ivgy) by locking her in their jumbled Haifa apartment while she works as a school security guard, Chelli (Ben-Shlush) is finally coerced into letting her attend a day-care centre. But, while this allows Chelli to start dating supply teacher Zohar (Yaakov Zada Daniel), his bid to loosen the sisters' symbiotic bonds has unexpectedly tragic consequences. The denouement may be a tad melodramatic, but this is a discreet and compellingly authentic study of misplaced devotion that makes oppressive use of claustrophobic interiors to capture a dependency that is both affecting and unsettling. Ben-Shlush and Zada Daniel excel, but Ivgy (who is also Korman's real-life childhood friend) is heartbreakingly convincing as the young woman eager to sample everything life has to offer.