Israeli Film "The Wedding Plan" by Dir Rama Burshtein - Divine Intervention for a Bride

Rama Burshtein (b US 1967) is an Amer/Israeli filmmaker best known for her film "Fill the Void" she wrote & directed.  It provided a rare look inside the ultra-Orthodox sect in Israel.  "The Wedding Plan" is also a Hebrew language film written/directed by Burshtein that brings us inside the lives of  Orthodox Jews in Israel.  However, this is not as revelatory a story about Judaic traditions & lifestyles as it is an ode to love & marriage.  Michal (Rama Burshtein) is crushed unceremoniously when her fiancee harshly says he doesn't love her weeks before their wedding date.  Michal is passionate, volatile, devout, unflappable and completely credible & likable.  She is on a mission (spiritually driven) to proceed with the nuptial plans set for the last night of Hanukkah firmly believing a groom will materialize by her side.  As ludicrous as this storyline seems, the film is so richly layered with fraught & vital human emotions it becomes a miraculous achievement.   The heart & soul of the film rests on the indomitable shoulders of Michal, undeterred in her quest to share her life in matrimony. Michal is an observant Orthodox Jew with resolute faith in "the Divine Creator" but is doing everything humanly possible to find a life partner.  She contacts a kind matchmaker to find her a find. The matchmaker asks Michal to delve into what it is she really wants in life.  After having her face smeared with smelly fish scales, Michal unveils all that her heart desires.  She wants the real deal; commitment, responsibility, stability..."the promise to care, love, respect" the person standing before her and to never take the feelings of joy for granted.  Along the bumpy road of dating there are some outlandish men who cross her path:  one proposes on their 1st date but won't look at her unless she agrees to marry him, a deaf man who brings his interpreter along to translate and a handsome rock star, Yos (Oz Zehavi) drawn to her honest, emotional meltdown.  The women in Michal's life including her best friend Feigi, are steadfast throughout.  They instill their undeterred love regardless of Michal's manic plans to marry.   The miracle of the lights of Hanukah coincide with the miracle to be found in finding that one person to cherish and build a life together.  "The Wedding Plan" is a warm, comedy that eloquently speaks to the wonders of love.