FESTIVAL OF JEWISH CINEMA 2009
The 20th Annual Festival of Jewish Cinema features a combination of new releases and a significant retrospective of popular films over the last 20 years. In Melbourne, the festival runs from 12-29 November at the ACMI Cinema and the Classic Cinema, Elsternwick. In Sydney, the festival runs from 11-30 November at the Event Cinemas (Greater Union), Bondi Junction. For more details visit: www.jewishfilmfestival.com.au.
A MATTER OF SIZE
The opening night film for the festival turns out to be a very entertaining and smartly observed film about image and being true to yourself. Sharon Maymon and Erez Tadmor wrote and directed this Israeli film about four overweight male friends, all of whom are looking for a satisfying relationship, but thwarted due to their perceived size. One of them, through working at a Japanese restaurant, discovers the sport of Sumo wrestling which appreciates size, and from there the four of them become involved with the sport, leading to some interesting developments in terms of relationships and self-discovery. There are some thematic links to "The Full Monty", but the film is more concerned with personal happiness rather than working class issues. One of the many delights of the film is the Japanese restaurant owner who trains the four in Sumo, is also a very good speaker of Hebrew, a nice cultural touch. The performances are all quite naturalistic and unforced, and allow the narrative to develop to its feel good denouement without seeming manipulative or overly sentimental. Indeed there are some funny lines along the way. An enjoyable journey. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
BEING JEWISH IN FRANCE
This is a two-part documentary made for French television, which despite some repetitions and some degree of stridency, presents a comprehensive overview of the treatment of Jews in France, with the Dreyfus affair, where a military General was stripped of his rank (and then reinstated) mainly due to him being Jewish. Using some rarely seen archival footage and some well chosen interview subjects, including a political assistant to Valery Giscard D'Estaing, the film paints an equivocal portrait of the love-hate relationship between French people and the Jewish population. The film focuses on the Vichy Government, a puppet of the Nazis, and the dreadful treatment of Jews during World War II, as well as the neo-Nazi terrorist bombings in Paris, after 9/11, of synagogues and other Jewish cultural locations. There are also the positive occasions in French history that demonstrated the warmth with which Jews were treated at various times. Mathieu Amalric provides the somewhat sombre, but appropriate narration, and the film is stylishly directed by Yves Jeuland, clocking in at just over three hours. The film does refuse to pass any judgement though, and remains a slightly distant exploration at this significant history without any editorializing, apart from the views of some of the interviewees. Recommended. (Peter Krausz).
EMPTY NEST
Daniel Burman, a Jewish-Argentinian filmmaker, made some excellent films that screened at previous Jewish FF: "Waiting for the Messiah", "Lost Embrace" and the beautifully observed father-son relationship drama, "Family Law". This new film by Burman focuses on an older couple whose children have left home, and the way they cope with an empty household that contains so many memories. Oscar Martinez plays the writer whose lapses into fantasy and possibly dementia, provide the film with a dramatic resonance which is occasionally also amusing. Cecilia Roth plays his wife, seeking new challenges, and finding it by re-enrolling in a University course. The film's gentle narrative development highlights the way these two people cope when left largely to their own devices without the joy of stimulation they receive from their children. Indeed the youngest daughter is about to marry in Israel and eventually the couple joins her in a reflective and beautifully observed sequence, culminating at the Dead Sea. The film straddles, very carefully, the notion of the mind starting to degenerate, and the challenges older couples face. Another acutely observed and always delightful film from Burman, who deserves more international recognition for his finely-tuned films. Highly recommended. (Peter Krausz)
CYCLES
The original French title to this film translates as "Around the Walls", but "Cycles" is definitely more appropriate, as it refers to the title of the book referred to in the film, which reflects the generational and personal life cycles that the characters in this narrative inhabit. Cyril Gelblat's film is a gentle evocation of three generations of a French-Jewish family all at a significant cross-roads in their lives. Miou-Miou plays a housewife concerned with her health and her elderly mother who is constantly returning to a location she remembers during World War II, while forgetting her day to day existence. Her brother, Charles Berling, a successful author, seems unfocused and somewhat distant from the family, in particular his young daughter who is seeking affection and belonging. Through this complex mix of personal concerns, family ties, and emotional memories, the narrative develops into an acutely observed drama with some pointed observations about growing older in changing social circumstances. Set amidst the bustle of Paris life, this is another subtle and keenly observed French film with some critical points to make about our identities and relationships. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
EYES WIDE OPEN
Can Orthodox Judaism tolerate male homosexuality? This is the key question posited by Haim Tabakman's astutely directed film about a married butcher, with three children, who enters into a gay relationship with a young, itinerant Yeshivah scholar, who is given a job at the butcher's. The film, in its somewhat understated way, deals with the relationship, the subtle response by the butcher's wife, and the religious intolerance exhibited by other orthodox Jews. The whole notion of destiny, Talmudic Law, and flawed humanity all come into play in this film which could easily have gone down the path of sensationalism or hysteria, which other similar recent narratives on this topic have done. Set in Jerusalem, the film refuses to pass judgment and instead allows each of the key characters space to explore his/her own situations alongside the religious doctrines that imbue the society. A fine film from a filmmaker who still takes some considerable risk in a challenging story. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
THE GIRAFFE (MESCHUGGE(Mad, Crazy))
Dani Levy, a German Jewish filmmaker, delighted audiences with his amusing "Alles Auf Zucker" (Go for Zucker) a rare Jewish comedy produced in Germany, and he then followed it with the somewhat misjudged, but slightly lacklustre, satire "Mein Fuhrer", which has not been seen in Australia. "Mein Fuhrer" concerns a Jewish concentration camp inmate and actor, brought to Berlin to teach a simpering Hitler to become stronger and provide leadership again to the German people. A very odd premise, and the mixture of satire and sentiment never quite gelled. This film by Levy, made in 1998, and co-written with the lead actress Maria Schrader (with Levy also taking the key acting role), is set largely in New York and Germany, and is based on the death of a Jewish woman in a fire in Brooklyn, which turns out to have echoes with Nazi Germany and the identities of two elderly women and their past. The complex narrative, which sometimes feels a little hysterical, involves the Jewish/Nazi past of these two women, and elderly man in Germany, and the role a Jewish private detective (played by David Straithairn) plays in this complex story. Despite some directorial flourishes, this is a smartly told tale that evolves into a well structured tale of guilt, relationships, historical manipulation and truth. Levy's use of widescreen is often evocative, even if he occasionally allows the acting to go a notch beyond what would be better for the screenplay. This is another worthy contribution to the fraught relationship between Germany's rich Jewish history and the abomination of the Nazi era. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
THE GIFT TO STALIN
A rare film from Kazakhstan, set in 1949, and directed by Rustem Abdrashov, turns out to be a finely observed story of a young Jewish boy caught up in the deportations and anti-Jewish purges in Russia after World War II, set up at the behest of Stalin. The film also flashes forward to contemporary Jerusalem and the fate of this young boy, who was shielded by some Muslim railroad workers and a young couple on a small farm. Despite some longeurs in the narrative development, the film builds a very unpleasant picture of life in Russia at the time, and in particular, the communist philosophy and its enforcement under Stalin's reign. The wide sweeping vistas set alongside the political tensions combine to make this a subtly observed film of violence and dislocation, culminating in the fate of the young Jewish boy amidst this maelstrom. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
INSIDE HANA'S SUITCASE
A documentary about a child Holocaust victim's discovered suitcase (with a twist) and its display and discussion amongst children and others at the Holocaust Museum in Tokyo, provides the basis for this pleasant, subtle film by Larry Weinstein. Based on Karen Levine's book, the film documents the painstaking discovery and research on the suitcase and its owner, eventually leading to the young girl's older Czech brother who survived the Holocaust. Combining some archival footage, interviews with Japanese learning about the Hoilocaust, and the research into the suitcase (which does have a twist in its tale) including interviews with the now elderly brother of the girl, makes this a well-made if slightly overlong film. (Peter Krausz)
HE'S MY GIRL
French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Zilbermann amused audiences over ten years ago with the gay based comedy "Man is a Woman", and he follows that film up with this sequel of sorts about a strait-laced gay musician (played by Antoine de Caunes) who discovers he has a son from a brief relationship with Elsa Zylberstein. While trying to establish some sort of relationship with his son, frowned upon by some orthodox Jews, he tries to placate and look after his elderly mother, and juggle a relationship with a young Arab transvestite, and an engaged man who struggles with his homosexual identity. In this mix, we learn that the musician is encouraged by his agent to do some concerts in New York. Where is his life leading and with whom? This amusing look at a man's complex life, sexuality, relationships, family and career make this both an enjoyable and astutely observed film. Indeed the film develops into a complex set of destinies and explorations that don't quite go the expected way. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
KHROUSTALIOV, MY CAR
What a revelation this rarely seen 1998 absurdist Russian comedy/drama is, especially as it tries to make sense of the politically fraught Stalin era of the 1950s. The film revolves around a Russian doctor who is given the job by Stalin of purging the medical profession of the Jewish "elements" leading to a series of totally absurd, occasionally violent, occasionally hilarious scenes. All the characterizations in this film are depicted as "odd" or "unusual", and nothing we see on screen is entirely what we think it appears to be, or indeed means. Running at 137 minutes, I found this to be an untterly compelling piece of allegorical satire, with a sharp subtext about the Stalin era's treatment of anyone not totally, and rabidly, communist. Eventually, the doctor experiences the opportunity to treat an ailing Stalin, but nothing is what we expect it to be. The director, Alexei Guerman, who it appears made few films and was ostracized by the mainstream filmmaking community, deserves re-evaluation for this incredible film, shot in monochrome. The film's clever use of music, mad, absurdist, nightmarish style, and the bizarre characters that imbue the plot, highlight a major filmmaker who is able to convey the dislocation and frenzy of the era in a pointedly sardonic way. Not for all tastes, but a major highlight of this festival. Highly recommended. (Peter Krausz)
ZION AND HIS BROTHER
Another well constructed Israeli film, by first time filmmaker Eran Merav, observes the tense and occasionally loving relationship between young teenager Zion and his older brother Meir, living in the poorer parts of Haifa with their mother and her potential new husband. Mirroring to some extent the biblical Cain and Abel story, the bonds that bind the two brothers are thrown into stark relief after the tragic death of an Ethiiopian boy. The notions of guilt, justice, morality and family, all come into play through this very well constructed narrative that remains compelling and problematic to the final scene. The film is also replete with subtle cultural observations, underlying tensions, and a well observed view about teenage life in an unsettled family. The lead actress playing the mother is the well known Israeli performer Ronit Elkabetz. Highly recommended. (Peter Krausz)
FROM HELL TO HELL
Based on the disturbing true story of the attack/pogrom in 1946 in Kielce in Poland, against a large group of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust by average Polish citizens, is a devastating film about a very sad period of European history. As seen through the eyes of a young Jewish woman, her husband, and her child, the film follows the journey of this family and others through Poland before and during World War II, whose existence after surviving the concentration camps becomes even more horrendous. Filmed in Belorussia in 1997 and directed by Dmitri Astrachan, the film follows this journey in a faithful, matter of fact way, exacerbating the horror of the last 20 minutes of the film. Yet curiously, due to the German dubbing of the Russian cast, and the poor quality of the print viewed, what should have been a compelling piece of horrible humanity, feels somewhat artificial and remote. The film was Belorussia's entry to the 1997 Foreign Language Academy Awards, and is nonetheless an important historic recounting of a shocking period of Polish history. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
A HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA
This is an epic three and a half hour documentary in two parts and made for Israeli television, by Raphael Nadjari, dovetails the history of the founding of the state of Israel (in 1948) from 1933 to the present era, with the establishment and development of the Israeli Film Industry. Combining significant interviews, with historic archival footage and scenes from many of the films produced over the years. The development of the Israeli Film Industry reflected the on-going social, religious and cultural issues that impacted on the nation, and ensured a diversity of voices were established in the industry. It is also interesting to note how the Israeli Film Industry has remarkable similarities to the way the Australian film industry developed, especially with the need for Government support and encouragement of locally based stories. A comprehensive and remarkable documentary that provides an excellent backdrop to the annual Israeli Film Festival. Recommended. (Peter Krausz)
THE WEDDING STORY
A quietly powerful film, set in Tunis in 1942, and portrays the Nazi invasion of northern Africa, with Hitler encouraging the Muslim population against the Jewish population. The film is based on the friendship of two teenage girls, one Jewish and the other Muslim, with the latter having a relationship with a Muslim boy who develops anti-semitic attitudes. The director, Karin Albou, also plays the Jewish girl's mother who is keen to marry her daughter to a doctor to save her from the religious intolerance of the time. As the hatred against the Jewish population grows, religious tension escalates, culminating in the deportation of the Jews, including women in a Hammam, a ritual bathing and cleansing building. Albou subtly directs this film, focusing on the two young girls and the way their friendship is soured by external, social and cultural factors. There is a real poignancy to the conclusion of the film. An impressive piece of work. Highly recommended. (Peter Krausz)