The movie “Novia que te vea” revolves around the lives of two Jewish girls named Oshinica (Oshi) and Rifke in Mexico. It provides a glimpse into the Jewish community in Mexico City, illustrating the journey of these two girls in search of their identities. The film begins with Oshinica (Oshi) and her traditional Sephardic family migrating from Turkey to Mexico. Right from the moment they disembark the ship, the sense of not fitting in is palpable.
They primarily speak Ladino and struggle to navigate their way in this unfamiliar new location. When Oshi reaches young adulthood, around 17 or 18 years old, she meets Rifke who acquaints her with a Zionist Socialist youth organization. While engaged in discussions with Rifke, Oshi and fellow group members often deliberate extensively on the matter of returning to Israel. They experience conflicting emotions as they are Mexican citizens, yet also identify strongly with their Jewish heritage and view Israel as their native land.
Throughout the entire movie, the central theme revolves around the torn feeling between their Mexican identity and their Jewish identity. As a young girl, Oshi visits a catholic church where she pretends to be catholic and hopes that they cannot tell she is Jewish. Similarly, Rifke, also as a young girl, requests a Christmas tree and nativity set like the rest of the children. Besides these conflicted emotions, they also have to confront the mistreatment from others in their community.
As a young girl, Rifke is subjected to taunts from other children who point at her and chant “Jew, Jew.” As she grows older, Rifke and Oshi come across an Easter play. Reflecting on the prejudice they face, Rifke remarks, “This is the reason they don’t like us. They depict us as murderers, even though they’ve never met me.” The film portrays the girls’ strong yearning for acceptance. Furthermore, it shed light on the strained relations among various Jewish groups, in addition to the negative sentiments expressed by the non-Jewish community towards Jews.
