Cinco días Sin Nora is a Mexican film that is set in a Jewish community in urban Mexico. It begins with Jose Kurtz learning that his ex-wife, Nora, has passed away by committing suicide. The rabbi advises that because of the Passover holiday, the burial must take place either right away or not for five days. Before passing away, Nora schemes a plan that leads Jose to prepare for her funeral. Through this process, Jose rekindles his love for his ex-wife from the past memories with a twist of an unexpected affair and the faith that was imposed upon him by his religious family is tested.

This movie uses the slightest gestures to shed light at the big issues in the background. It draws a line, where religious faith becomes comfort and where toxic ritual. The film does an excellent job at keeping the viewers engaged with a comical plot line in a religious matter. For example, the scene where Jose offered rabbi some pizza with meat on it. Here they also show the bad side of religion by not letting Nora being buried in the Jewish cemetery because suicide a sin according to their religion. Nora, the dead ex-wife, plays a crucial role even after her death. She sets the whole tone for the movie by somehow manipulating each character. She gives the meaning to the word Passover by leaving hints of her presence throughout the movie.  Passover is a festival celebrated by the Jews, where there is a prescribed time to commemorate and reflect upon deceased loved ones. I believe that was the overall theme of the movie, before passing way, Nora, devised such a plan that brought all of her loved ones together to celebrate her cherished memories at the end with the Passover dinner that she instructed Fabiana to make. The only criticism that I would make is that there was not much information leading up to Nora’s death as to why she was could have been depressed. Other than that it was a good movie with universal theme of love, family, religion and culture coming together to celebrate the festival of Passover.

Connecting to the theme of our class, this movie showcases the indigeneity in Mexico. Prior to this movie I had no idea that Judaism even existed in Mexico. There is a certain example in the movie that shows the cultural values outplays the religious ones, for example when Fabiana finds out that the Shomer is from a place near her hometown, her reaction towards the Shomer changes immediately. Prior to that she treated him rigidly because of difference in their religion. Therefore implying that geography does play a crucial role in uniting people in Latin America.  Overall the movie was a great watch and would recommend it to anyone interested for a peak at the Jewish community in Mexico.