Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Jason goes to Jewfest South and sees SIMON AND THE OAKS

Hastily catching up on my blog, so apologies for a shorter-than-normal review

A week ago Tuesday I was back at the Century 24 on Winchester for another SVJFF screening, this time of the award-winning Swedish hit, SIMON AND THE OAKS. Simon is a quiet, bookish boy who doesn't even come close to living up to his dad's idea of a masculine son. He doesn't care about learning his father's blue-collar trade (boat-making) but wants to go to school, which his mother encourages. There he meets Isak, a Jewish boy from a wealthy family. The become friends, Simon gets along very well with Isak's family, while Isak actually likes working with his hands and learning from Simon's father. And then, of course, WWII gets in the way. The story spans the years 1939 to 1952, and is a wonderful, richly told story of friendship, Sweden's situation during the war, and family secrets. Really good stuff.

Running Time: 122 minutes
My Total Minutes: 340,533

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