Arranged (2007) was directed by Diane Crespo and Stefan C. Schaefer. (Schaefer was also the writer.) Zoe Lister Jones plays Rochel Meshenberg, a young Orthodox Jew, and Francis Benhamou play Nasira Khaldi, a young Orthodox Muslim. Both young women are new teachers in the New York City school system.Both of these women accept their culture, in which arranged marriages are the accepted norm. Neither woman rejects the reality of arranged marriages. The problem is that the prospective partners are definitely not to their liking.Living in the U.S. in the 21st Century exposes the women to a society in which an arranged marriage is considered an anomaly. In fact, this is the position taken by the school's well-meaning, but dismally unaware principal. (Played by Marcia Jean Kurtz.) In fact, the intrusions of Principal Jacoby are so clumsy that all she does is alienate both women, and drive them closer together. (I think Crespo and Schaefer brought her into the movie to present what they see as the feminist viewpoint. The feminist viewpoint has a place in the film, but not in the manner in which it's portrayed.)Similarly, Rochel's visit to her non-Orthodox cousin is another clumsily portrayed view of the outside world. Women who leave the Orthodox community don't automatically gravitate to parties where everyone is drugged out.Despite these flaws, the basic plot works well. We can believe that the women would become friends. They accept each other as faithful members of a different culture and religion, and they move on from there. They can remain friends, but only on neutral turf like the school or a park, but that's OK.Both can remain firmly within their communities, but try to find happiness on their own terms. In order to learn how they move forward, you'll have to see the movie.We saw this film on DVD, and it worked very well on the small screen. It was highly recommended by a knowledgeable friend. In turn, I'm recommending it to anyone reading this review. It's definitely worth seeing.

If you're looking for a film which addresses the issues of arranged marriage, this is not it.Two young women, one Jewish one Islamic, both belonging to families which are strict to their respective religions, start up a friendship and end up helping each other through the hazards and dilemmas of arranged marriage.The conflict throughout this story is very light. It only really gets heated at one point near the end when a pro-womens' lib head teacher is told to back off (and you can almost hear the director applauding). Yes, the film-makers leave you in no doubt where they stand and make sure to avoid any deeper reflection on the subject. Just when you think some kind of drama may be about to kick off, the film does an about turn and heads for the emergency exit (signed 'COP OUT').Of course, there are happy arranged marriages. But do we need this kind of saccharine-sweet depiction? There was a film about non-arranged marriages made in the 70s which ends with the wives wheeling their shopping trolleys around a store like zombies - it's called The Stepford Wives. Arranged has a similar end scene, but even more chilling considering the film-makers intended this to warm your heart.You could try watching this film and imagining it's a sci-fi movie set in alternative reality where women's lib never caught on. Or maybe you're up for an arranged marriage and you need convincing.

So, two girls from traditional families, one Jewish one Muslim, discover they have much more in common than anyone imagined. Sadly, this movie is nothing more than the heartfelt wish, of the writers and director, for how the world ought to be, not how it really is. Do not confuse this movie for reality.The girls are attractive, the acting is good, the sentiment is sweet, and I enjoyed the scenes of Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, a place I know fairly well. But to call the movie sophomoric is to give sophomores a bad name.Yes, of course, individuals are the same everywhere, but this explains almost nothing about the world we live in. If everybody wants to be left in peace and to mind his own business, why are there wars? Why do husbands beat wives? Why do mothers abandon children? Ethnic cleansing? Jihad? Crusades? Etc., etc., etc. The world is more complicated than two young women who want to marry for love. Considerably more complicated, and a lot nastier.Rachel and Nasira teach 4th grade at an elementary school in Brooklyn. Early in the movie, the children wonder about the teachers working together, and one students asks, "Don't the Muslims want to kill the Jews?" and the movie is off and running with its basic message that people everywhere are the same and all the unpleasantness is just a terrible misunderstanding.There is no misunderstanding. Lots of people have lots of ideas, and not all these ideas are sweet and generous. One poignant moment came when Nasira rejected the first suitor her father chose for her. Her father understood (so arranged marriages are alright). Well, fathers sometimes do understand. But twelve year old Afghan and Yemeni girls marrying 40 and 50 year old men is proof that fathers sometimes do not understand.If Stefan Schaefer and Yuta Silverman (the writers), and Diane Crespo (the director), want to do more than "imagine world peace," if they want to strike a blow for world peace, they would do us all a favor by telling how it really is, rather than concocting a fable of arranged marriages.

This film has a distinctly anti-liberal point of view. Also at times the script is amateurish and the acting contrived. I do admit that I am not the best audience for the theme of 'arranged marriages' as I do believe in adults having a choice.The liberal woman in the school where they were teachers is portrayed rather negatively I felt, but I definitely agreed with her position that women have fought long and hard in the Western world to achieve rights (like voting and working).Both these women, although intelligent and teachers, were extremely subservient to their parents. Had they ever done anything outside of the house without their parents observing them. like independent travelling or even go to a movie? Marriage was portrayed as the prime objective and fulfilment of their lives. It was nauseating to witness the pressure the parents were putting on both these 22 year old woman to marry. It was even worse that both were spineless and unable to strike out to form their own lives. At the end both seem to have found their 'soul-mates', but even that was based on a few minutes of observation.Even though this is about a Muslim and Jewish woman communicating, neither is willing to go outside the boundaries of their religious domain. Also the under-belly of 'arranged marriages' is spousal abuse and many times the marriage of an older man to a teenage bride. This silly film fable does not go near these topics.