Rochester Jewish Film
Festival, running July 16-23, shows at Little Theatres, 240 East Avenue, and the George Eastman
House’s Dryden Theatre, 900 East
Avenue. $10-$15. For more information call
461-2000 ext. 235, or visit www.rjff.org.
The chosen films
Six years have passed since the first Rochester Jewish Film
Festival, and the RJFF continues its custom of finding the planet’s best films
about the Jewish experience and bringing them to an audience that may not get
the chance to see them otherwise. The 2006 incarnation contains nine feature
films, seven documentaries, and two short films, plus visiting artists,
post-screening discussions, an opening-night ice cream street party and
concert, and a closing-night chocolate and wine reception. Ticket prices range
from $10 to $15, with festival passes available for $118. Visit www.rjff.org or
call 461-2000 ext. 235 for advance purchase of tickets as well as further
information about the festival.
I used a very scientific and reliable method involving my
index finger, two closed eyes, and some pointing in choosing which films to
preview…
Little Jerusalem (2005; in French and Hebrew with English subtitles)
Remaining true to tradition while establishing your
individuality is a common theme in art, and filmmaker Karin Albou’s Little Jerusalem explores this seeming
paradox via the story of Laura (gifted Fanny Valette), a young Orthodox Jewish
woman studying philosophy and in love with an Algerian immigrant named Djamel
(Hedi Tillette de Clermont-Tonnerre). Albou juxtaposes Laura’s situation with that of her sister Mathilde (Elsa Zylberstein), a
wife and mother trying to adhere to her rigid interpretation of the Torah and
still prevent her philandering husband Ariel (Bruno Todeschini)
from seeking the company of women unbound by such restrictions.
The film takes its title from the close-knit Jewish enclave
in a Parisian suburb that the sisters call home with their Tunisian mother, a
superstitious widow eager to find a proper husband for her free-thinking
daughter. Writer-director Albou gets gutsy
performances from her cast — as well as sublime cinematography from her DP
that lovingly showcases the film’s gorgeous heroines — and shows that the
truest faith is in yourself.
Go For Zucker (2005; in German with
English subtitles)
Jacky Zucker (Henry Hรผbchen) is a lovable loser, with a wife who describes
herself as his future ex, disillusioned kids, and a heap of debt. But he’s also
a crackerjack billiards player who believes his problems will be solved once he
wins the European Pool Classic, only days away. Then his mother checks out,
leaving a condition in her will that neither Jacky nor his estranged brother
Samuel (UdoSamel), an
Orthodox Jew, will get their paws on her deutschmarks until they kiss and make
up.
It’s a fairly standard plot thickener, but director Dani Levy gets great comedic mileage out of Jacky’s feeble
efforts to be Jewish again (Samuel’s wife correctly observes Jacky and his
family to be “as kosher as a pork chop”) and go-for-broke attempts (read: fake
heart attacks) to participate in the tournament despite the fact that he’s
supposed to be in mourning. Go For Zuckerwas a huge hit in its native Germany, using slapstick and farce
to compare the rift between the brothers to the invisible schism that remains
in the once-divided country.
Walk On Water (2003; in Hebrew with English subtitles)
Director Eytan Fox’s Oscar winner
for Best Foreign Film stars Israeli heartthrob Lior
Ashkenazi as Eyal, a Mossad
assassin on the trail of a Nazi war criminal. Eyal
poses as a tour guide in hopes of eliciting information from the man’s grown-up
grandkids: the vacationing Axel (Knut Berger), who is visiting sister Pia (Carolina Peters) on a kibbutz. Time spent with Axel
forces Pia to acknowledge that she’s trying to escape
from her past, while the stoic Eyal, also in denial
about a recent tragedy, gets to see Israel anew through the eyes of his
German charges.
The three main actors do a credible job even as they act in
a language (English) that isn’t their mother tongue, but the standout is
Ashkenazi, who uses his sad Clive Owen-esque looks to
channel a man whose closely held preconceptions begin
to fall to the wayside. And while the epilogue is a little too pat — it’s
actually downright treacly — the journey finds Fox
tackling a bunch of thorny issues in Walk
On Water, from Muslim-Jew relations to homophobia to Israel’s struggle to reconcile its
heartbreaking history.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days(2005; in German with English
subtitles)
Sophie Scholl was a German student who was executed in 1943
for her participation in the White Rose, a resistance movement at MunichUniversity.
The recent discovery of documents relating to her trial as well as new
interviews with witnesses provide the basis for The Final Days, director Marc Rothemund’sheartwrenching portrait of one woman’s steadfast
convictions, even in the face of the ultimate consequence.
As subtly played by The
Edukators‘ Julia Jentsch,
Sophie is hauled in after distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at school, initially
thwarting her interrogator but eventually confessing after incriminating
evidence is discovered at her apartment. Her grilling by the increasingly
sympathetic Investigator Mohr is fascinating and frustrating, and the resulting
trial, presided over by an unyielding judge, may cause you to wonder what you
might do when confronted with the same choices. There is ample opportunity
throughout The Final Days for
over-the-top hysterics, but Rothemund allows his film
the same grace and dignity possessed by his muse.
Moshe Safdie: The Power of Architecture(2004)
I’m not sure why documentaries about architects are so
intriguing. Perhaps it’s because we rarely stop and think about all that went
into constructing something we use every day and probably take for granted. In
the last couple of years we’ve seen My
Architect and Sketches of Frank Gehry, and this portrait of Moshe Safdie
explores the life and work of one of the world’s foremost designers, a man
making his mark all over the globe, but especially in the three countries he
calls home: Canada, America, and Israel.
Sporting twinkly brown eyes and a
whisk-broom mustache, Safdie discusses what drives
him to take chances in his art. He’s rightfully proud of his first project, Montreal’s Habitat ’67, a stunning exercise in urban villagery that looks as though someone dropped a pile of
blocks next to the St. Lawrence River, as well as Salem’s
PeabodyMuseum, whose galleries derive their
inspiration from the old tombstones nearby. His legacy, however, will be the
planning and building of Modi’in, located between Tel
Aviv and Jerusalem
and housing 60,000 people in a growing town that respects both the land and
people. Closer to home, however, The
Power of Architecture should get your excited about our own Renaissance
Square project, on which Safdie is design architect.
RJFF Schedule
Unless otherwise
noted, screenings take place at Little Theatres
Sunday, July 16
Live and Become, 3
p.m.
A
Cantor’s Tale (preceded by Matisyahu), 7 p.m.
Monday, July 17
The
Ritchie Boys, 6:30 p.m.
Little
Jerusalem (preceded by The Tribe), 9 p.m.
Tuesday, July 18
Sister
Rose’s Passion and My 100 Children,
6:30 p.m.
Go For Zucker, 9 p.m.
Wednesday, July 19
Walk On Water,
6:30 p.m.
What A Wonderful Place,
9 p.m.
Thursday, July 20
Singing Blacksmith,
2 p.m. (Dryden)
Forgotten
Refugees and Last Greeks on Broome Street,
6:30 p.m.
Fateless,
9 p.m.
Saturday, July 22
Sophie Scholl: The
Final Days, 7 and 10 p.m. (Dryden)
Sunday, July 23
Bar
Mitzvah Boy, 4 p.m.
Moshe Safdie: The Power of Architecture, 7 p.m.
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2006.
