The story of a friendship between a young teacher from an Orthodox Jewish family and her colleague from a Muslim background. The film depicts the hilarious and more serious events of their time at the local school, their private lives, their sometimes tragicomic choice of partners with the help of their families, and their confrontations with the secular environment of New York City.

Rochel is a pretty young Jewish girl who finds a job at the school at the same time that Nasira, a Muslim, arrives. They both enjoy working with the children and along the way they get to know each other despite their different faiths. Gradually a nice friendship develops between them.

The school is run by a feminist-influenced headmistress. At times she finds the otherness of her two new colleagues difficult to bear, but sometimes the principled attitudes of her colleagues make her think.

At the heart of the film is the search for grooms for the two protagonists. In both cases, the families of both young women are involved in the search for the right husband. Initially, this doesn’t go very well. They are offered different, albeit successful, but differently flighty younger or older men.

Thanks to the consideration of the parents of both girls, the situation surrounding the search for a groom, despite the initial desperation, turns out quite well in the end.

The protagonists show their contentment with their lives, which all too often do not conform to the shallowness of the secular world. They lack discernment, patience and the understanding that the real enjoyment of life lies in genuine love-filled relationships, not one-night stands and late-night drinking.

Parents Guide: One teacher’s bragging about discovering “topless” sunbathing. About 2x kissing a couple in the background attending a disco. A young man flirting with Rochel at a disco. Girls at disco in dresses with exposed shoulders, stomach. Taking God’s name in vain. Drinking alcohol or smoking multiple times in the disco scene.

Hinting at considering the use of contraception. One scene where Rochel participates in a ritual based on superstition. Political correctness fitted into some of the language. A headmistress marked by feminism with a prejudice against religious traditions.

Cast: Zoe Lister Jones, Francis Benhamou, John Rothman, Daniel London, Ricky Smith, Peggy Gormley, Alison Becker, David Castro, Alysia Reiner, Larry Mills, Laith Nakli, Mimi Lieber

Crew: Diane Crespo, Stefan C. Schaefer

USA, 2007

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