Although I thought this was in many ways a good movie, I did think it ridiculous that Catholicism was portrayed as the religion accepting of sensuality and sexual respect for women, with a Hispanic man as the one who knows how to be a real lover, while Orthodox Judaism is depicted as hypocritical, repressive, misogynist, and Jewish men are depicted as either insensitive in bed or as rapists. Aren't there more shades of grey in all groups? There does need to be more exposure of the plight of women in traditional cultures, but I thought this was too steeped in prejudice, knowing it's "okay" to be so toward Orthodox Jews, but of course not toward other minorities, who are treated quite differently by the writer/director. I did appreciate that the director showed how cruel the oppression of women is, and the bind many find themselves in when oppression is carried out and defended by a closed community. But the portrayal of a woman who was violently attacked and repeatedly exploited as remaining "cohesive" in personality and untraumatized in mind was unrealistic, and in a subtle way, minimized the horrors of violence and coercion. I'm sure this was not the director's intention, but in a way it is a distorted view of women to think that we could endure violence without great mental injury.
Review of A Price Above Rubies
