Arranged, 2007

Directors: Diane Crespo, Stefan C. Schaefer

Stars: Zoe Lister Jones, Francis Benhamou

When Nasira (Benhamou), a Muslim, and Rochel (Jones), an Orthodox Jew, start teaching in the same New York school, no one expects them to get along. But they soon find how much they have in common, especially their arranged marriages.

You feel like you are part of their lives for a while. I like those kinds of films. This is a sweet story. It is very like Sabah: A Love Story, which I reviewed in the past couple months. Very enjoyable!

Sabah: A Love Story

Director: Ruba Nadda

Stars: Arsinee Khanjian, Shawn Doyle

Sabah (Khanjian) is a 40-something, single Muslim woman, who dutifully takes care of her mother, and deals with the strict rules of her religion within her close-knit family in Toronto. She decides to take swimming lessons (a big no-no, apparently) and meets a non-Muslim named Stephen, and falls in love. Keeping the relationship from her family is complicated, and eventually they decide to tell them.

It's one of those quiet, slow-moving stories. A kind of real life story. It was a lot like Sweet Land, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. I liked Sweet Land better, but still this was sweet, and definitely worth watching.