"VIRGINS (VIERGES)" // TRIBECA 2018 REVIEW
In the small Irsaeli town of Kiryat Yam, Lana (Joy Rieger) is bored. Bored out of her mind. She wants something else, something bigger, something better. To her, it seems like everyone who lives there is stuck. Stuck and unable, or unwilling, to reach out and go somewhere else. She’s tired of the same old, same old kind of life. She wants to pack up and leave everything behind, head to Tel Aviv and never look back. Her entire life suddenly changes when a handsome journalist shows up in her town (Michael Aloni). After an awkward meeting, she agrees to translate a story of a Russian fisherman and, simply because she’s bored and to have fun, invents half of the story to tell the tale of a Mermaid, washing up to their shores.
Soon, the story catches on and a tide of media attention comes their way. The local mayor sees the story as a way to revitalize the town’s terrible economy and offers a million-dollar reward to anyone who witnesses the arrival of the mermaid. The entire town, and media, are entranced and suddenly all the excitement that she’s longed for has arrived in her town, all because of her little, tiny lie. With VIRGINS, Keren Ben Rafael (who also directs) and Elise Benroubi weave a coming of age tale that is both charming and original. They bring real life magic to a town that desperately needs it. Joy Rieger is wonderfully charming, funny, and refuses to let go of your attention. You relate to her and even disagree with her without ever being annoyed or put off by her. Her longing becomes our longing, and as the film goes on, we become just like the town, waiting and hoping for a sign, any sign, of the fabled mermaid to wash across the shores of Kiryat Yam.
