Like a Bride

Having trained with the BBC in London, Schyfter returned to Mexico to make this decently crafted, undeniably sincere and slightly underwhelming portrait of the country's Jewish community. Moving through the decades, the story charts the friendship of an aspiring painter, Oshinica, from a strict Sephardic family of Turkish origin, and her more liberal-thinking pal Riffke, the daughter of refugees from the Holocaust. Spanning the currents of feminism, Zionism and socialism, the two women seek to break free from the roles assigned to them by society. The end result is more arresting as social history than drama, but the careful performances and unusual content make it worthwhile for those with an interest in the subject matter.