Film Review | When Austrian Justice Fails
Thomas Roth tells the story of “law, justice and revenge” in Schächten – A Retribution, a post-war thriller.
07
Nov
22
Dec
The Ten Commandments of Film
When asked at a press conference about his faith, French director Francoise Truffaut’s answer was simple: “Films are my religion.” Here are ten films, each with a thematic connection to one of the Ten Commandments.
26
Oct
‘In the Heights’ Explores the Universal Longing for a Homeland
In the Heights is a love letter to Washington Heights, an upper Manhattan neighborhood that is home to a large Dominican and Puerto Rican population.
31
Aug
Aimee Bikel Remembers Ed Asner
Aimee Ginsburg Bikel was the wife of the late Theodore Bikel, the renowned actor, folksinger and activist. She reflects on her friendship with actor Ed Asner, best known for playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, who passed away on August 29.
27
Aug
Scandinavian Morality During WWII
Passage to Sweden
Released January 27, 2021 (USA)
58 minutes
Directed by Suzannah Warlick
Bubble Soup Productions
Documentary, English
Why do countries behave so differently toward their religious and ethnic minorities? Are nations’ education systems so divergent that their citizens develop distinct moral codes? How much does leadership matter? Why do some ordinary people risk their lives to save others?
In her recently released documentary, Passage to Sweden, director, producer and writer Suzannah Warlick examines these vital questions through the prism of the little-known story of Scandinavian Jews’ (and those in Budapest who were rescued by Swedish national Raoul Wallenberg) widely differing experiences during World War II. Warlick shot 130 hours of material from which she has skillfully woven a treasure trove of archival film footage, photographs and interviews with people who lived in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Hungary through the war...
23
Jul
Staff Picks: Hunters, Hemingway and Harlem
What we’re reading—and watching—this week.
14
Jul
A Funeral Farce (Shiva Baby)
Shiva Baby
Released April 2, 2021 (USA)
1 hour 17 minutes
Directed by Emma Seligman
Neon Heart Productions
Comedy, English
When Danielle’s overbearing mother presses her into attending a shiva, a series of disasters converge over the span of several hours. Shiva Baby, directed by Emma Seligman, is a taut, finely scripted comedy in which emotional tensions, hidden secrets and discomforting personal interactions tumble out so swiftly that the audience is on tenterhooks wondering where this car crash will end.
Danielle, played by Rachel Sennott (High Maintenance, Call Your Mother), is a bisexual woman who has just graduated with a degree in gender business studies, but she is aimless and unemployed. She has told her parents that she has what she euphemistically calls a part-time “babysitting” job that, in reality, involves getting paid for sex with a married man.
Her parents’ desire for...
21
Apr
Israel’s Short Film Oscar Submission
In her latest review, Film Editor Dina Gold discusses White Eye, a new Israeli short film about racism and prejudice.
24
Mar
The Superhero Haggadah: When Monoculture Meets Mono-Judaism
We live in a disjointed media market. Gone is the monocultural dominance and the sense of camaraderie you and your coworkers would feel as you gathered around the watercooler to discuss the latest twist on Lost. Instead, we binge whatever Netflix series our personal algorithm drops in our queue or turn to The Office for the umpteenth time. Jews too live in a disjointed market, albeit a religious one. Everyone knows the expression “two Jews, three opinions.” Whether it’s politics, God or Israel, we have never been able to come to a consensus on anything. Heck, we can’t even agree on how to spell the holiday Chanukkah Chanukah Hanukkah.
However, when it comes to Passover, the Jewish people display a certain level of unity and community not seen throughout the rest of the year. On the...
19
Mar
Tango Shalom | The Dancing Rabbi of Crown Heights
Tango Shalom
Released February 11, 2021
1 hour 55 minutes
Directed by Gabriel Bologna
Convivencia Forever Films
Comedy, Family, Dance: English
Hasidic rabbi Moshe Yehuda is a father of five whose Hebrew school is on the verge of bankruptcy. His brother, Rahamim, is entangled in a scam while simultaneously begging for help to pay for his upcoming wedding to, oy, a progressive woman. This disastrous state of affairs is exacerbated by their mother’s antipathy toward Rahamim’s fiancée, Marina Zlotkin, as well as her son’s future mother-in-law, Leah. Rabbi Yehuda, a talented amateur hora dancer in his spare time, tramps across Brooklyn in search of paid employment. With no end in sight to his mounting tsuris, he and his family face disastrous financial and emotional ruin.
But then one day, while waiting at a bus stop, Moshe hears music coming from a Latin...