While I absolutely loved the movie and found it to be both funny and bittersweet, I write here to differ with other displayed comments. The part of the conservative Georgian community shown in this Israeli movie is most certainly NOT matriarchal. The problems that the male protagonist experiences are NOT due to women controlling the society. The reason his family doesn't want to allow him to be with the woman he loves is because it is a *patriarchal* society, where an older, divorced woman with a child -- no matter how loving, intelligent and beautiful -- is viewed through a sexist lens as damaged goods.
Anyone who watches the early scenes where a 17-year-old girl is trotted out as goods for matchmaking purposes and the two male heads of the family control the proceedings, should realize that this is a patriarchal society. Don't be misled by the fact that the professional matchmaker is a woman and that the hero's mother is a firm believer in sexist customs; if some women didn't hold sexist beliefs, sexism wouldn't exist. Note that the 17 year-old's mother is a widow, but her uncle controls the matchmaking decisions instead of her mother. The male protagonist is harmed by *patriarchal* customs, make no mistake. These customs harm both women and men.
Anyone who watches the early scenes where a 17-year-old girl is trotted out as goods for matchmaking purposes and the two male heads of the family control the proceedings, should realize that this is a patriarchal society. Don't be misled by the fact that the professional matchmaker is a woman and that the hero's mother is a firm believer in sexist customs; if some women didn't hold sexist beliefs, sexism wouldn't exist. Note that the 17 year-old's mother is a widow, but her uncle controls the matchmaking decisions instead of her mother. The male protagonist is harmed by *patriarchal* customs, make no mistake. These customs harm both women and men.