Jason goes to SFJFF--Day 8

Okay, the last night of the festival in Palo Alto. A month ago Thursday:

First up was MY SHORTEST LOVE AFFAIR, a frank and sexy drama about a pair of lovers who reunite after 20 years apart and after one night of passion they learn two things. First, they're going to become parents. Second, that they don't really work well as a couple. Over the nine months of the pregnancy they argue, they fight, they're...pretty awful to each other. But they always get back together and at least try to make it work. Whether or not that's a good idea is up to the viewer to decide (spoiler alert: it's not.)

And finally we ended the Palo Alto week with a screwball comedy, MR KAPLAN. Septugenarian Uruguayan Jew Jacob Kaplan worries that his life hasn't amounted to much. Certainly compared to great figures like Winston Churchill or Simon Weisenthal. As his abilities fade (and he loses his driver's license) he becomes obsessed with an old German man living nearby whom his graddaughter calls "the Nazi." Is he, perhaps, an actual Nazi war criminal who has escaped detection for so many decades? Perhaps he can play the Weisenthal to this man's Eichmann? Along with a drunk ex-cop Kaplan hires to be his chauffeur, the game is afoot. And of course, wacky hijinx ensue.

Total Running Time: 176 minutes
My Total Minutes: 405,120

Jason goes to SFJFF--Day 7

A month ago Wednesday. Two movies.

THE ARMOR OF LIGHT tackles a very interesting, important, and timely subject--how in the world is "pro-life" consistent with "pro-gun rights?" Okay, that was oversimplified, which gives the wrong idea about this smart and thoughtful movie. As is the hero of this movie, minister Rob Schenck, a devoutly pro-life (also spoiler alert--born Jewish, hence it's inclusion in the festival) activist who has a crisis of faith/culture about the pro-gun tendencies in his flock. Taking a hard stand against abortion while justifying gun violence just doesn't sit with him, and so throughout the movie he goes on a sort of spiritual quest and then (the beginnings of) a political fight to be pro-life and pro-gun control. In the Q&A afterwards, director Abigail Disney (granddaughter of Roy Disney) talked about rolling out both the movie and the political/religious message. So look for more to come of this soon.

And then THE LAW, probably not programmed the same night by accident. It's a French thriller about...the legislative process. In particular, the 1975 French law that legalized abortion, and Simone Veil, the Health Minister and Holocaust survivor who shepherded it through the legislative labyrinth. Emmanuelle Devos gives a fantastic performance, and the end result is surprisingly tense, exciting, and even sexy...for a film about getting a law passed.

Total Running Time: 177 minutes
My Total Minutes: 404,944

Jason goes to SFJFF--Day 6

One film a month ago Tuesday, PLASTIC MAN: THE ARTFUL LIFE OF JERRY ROSS BARRISH. And I'm such a shmuck I didn't get this up in time to tell you there would be a retrospective of his films at the Roxie. However, this movie is still playing there, so you should stop reading this and just go see it. It's awesome. Oh, and then think about how the title both refers to his artwork in plastic and how he has changed his life so many times that he's sort of a plastic man himself. That's all I'll say.

Running Time: 74 minutes
My Total Minutes: 404,767

Jason goes to SFJFF--Day 5

Catching up after falling over a week moth behind. I have a whole week's worth of Jewfest films to tell you about.

Let's start with THE GO-GO BOYS: THE INSIDE STORY OF CANNON FILMS. Life is full of weird coincidences sometimes. I hadn't thought about legendary 80s (mostly) low-budget (mostly) action studio Cannon Films in years, and now I've seen two documentaries about them just a few months apart. The first one, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS, I saw at SFIFF, and was an exhaustive look at the studios prolific output, novel business model (quantity over quality, give the directors freedom but no money, and one big hit can sustain you for another year or two) and reasons behind its eventual failure (straying from that model.) And behind it all were two men--Menahem Goran and Yoram Globus, but ELECTRIC BOOGALOO didn't go into much detail about the men, other than that they were the Israeli brains behind it all. So THE GO-GO BOYS makes a perfect pairing, and I think I saw them in the right order--celebrate the movies first, then learn about the guys who made them. Their origins as Israeli filmmakers (starting out with Chaim Topol's SALLAH SHABATI) their relationship, their contrasting personalities that both made them huge players and eventually led to their parting ways. And this film even features interviews with both of them, before Golan sadly passed away just...wow, a year ago tomorrow (Globus, well into his 70s, is still producing films in Israel.) Pretty cool, and if there's any studio that deserved two documentaries about it in 2015, it had to be Cannon.

And then MANPOWER, a multi-layered slice-of-life of working class (sometimes illegal foreign workers) men in Israel. Focusing on Meir, a police officer with a stellar record who is put in charge of a special operation targeting foreign workers. One of those workers is a Nigerian housecleaner who works hard and stays out of trouble, but still risks deportation. Other stories intersect, and I'm sorry I didn't write this right away because I forget a lot of the details. But with sensitivity and humor it showcases the struggles of many different working class people just trying to live a little bit of a good life.

Total Running Time: 177 minutes
My Total Minutes: 404,693

Jason goes to SFJFF--Day 4

Let's finish up last weekend before next weekend starts. Another full day in Palo Alto on Sunday.

First up, FAMOUS NATHAN, a story of a titan of hot dog industry, and also a story of a man, his friends, his employees, and his family, all told by his grandson Lloyd Handwerker. He uses a mix of archival footage, home video (sometimes not in the greatest condition) and new interviews to tell the rags-to-riches story of a near-illiterate immigrant who worked hard; sold hot dogs; cared about price, quality, and most of all people; and through that built an empire. It's also the story of sibling rivalry, as one brother continues in the business but the other (the director's father) leaves and actually runs a competing Snack Time restaurant for a while. It's a bit of a roller coaster ride at times (appropriate for Coney Island, I suppose) and in the end I really, really wanted a hot dog. BTW, for theater concession food, the hot dogs at the Cinearts Palo Alto are not too bad.

Next up was a great documentary (on a side note, I was recounting my favorite movies of the festival a few days ago to a work friend, and I stopped and realized I was just rattling off all the documentaries. So good job with the documentary selections this year!) AUTISM IN LOVE follows the lives of 4 people who are on the autism spectrum ranging from Rain Man-esque to sort of awkward Aspies (call back to the other autistic-person-seeks-romantic-partner movie I saw this year) who are in various different stages of romance. There's the frustrated guy who just wants to fit in. There's the loving, devoted husband who is dealing with his wife dying of cancer, but can't express himself right. And then there's the couple who have put up with their quirks for several years and might just be ready to take it to the next level. What struck me is that their romantic troubles aren't a whole lot different from mine (well, I've never dealt with a dying spouse, but the others...) Far from being oddballs, I thought their troubles were so relatable by the end I started wondering if maybe I'm on the spectrum but just haven't been diagnosed. It's my understanding that that fact that I empathized so well probably means I'm not...

Anyway, up next was a nice little crowd-pleaser, DOUGH. Nat (Jonathan Pryce) is an English kosher baker who runs the little bakery that his father and grandfather ran before him. His son doesn't want the business, though, he's a successful lawyer. And the big chain store across the street wants to buy him out--and the whole block. But he stands firm, even though he needs a little help. that help comes in the form of his cleaner's son Ayyash, a Muslim immigrant from Darfur. Of course there's mistrust, and of course that mistrust thaws. But Ayyash is also a small-time pot dealer (smart enough not to smoke his own, he's just looking for some money) and wacky hijinx ensue when he accidentally stashes his pot in the dough...and the resulting baked goods are a huge hit. A funny, reasonably charming film that's not too heavy and doesn't challenge you to think too much. I'm not surprised this was the San Francisco opening night film.

Next up was PAPA WAS NOT A ROLLING STONE, an autobiographical narrative film from French director Sylvie Ohayon. With a nice mix of comedy and drama, the story is all about Stéphanie “Fifi” Mortier, a high school student who lives in one of the poor suburbs where French Jews and Muslims co-inhabit apartment buildings. At least Fifi is a good student, so she has some options. Maybe dance. Maybe go to university. Maybe just have fun sexy times with her boyfriend all the time... After all, getting impregnated by a Muslim is kind of a family tradition that led to...her existing. Meanwhile she has to deal with her flaky mother and abusive step-father. It all adds up to a pretty good coming of age film, with an excellent mix of drama and comedy.

And finally I ended the night and the weekend with RED LEAVES, a fascinating and well-made fictional look into the lives of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Patriarch Meseganio Tadela (Debebe Eshetu) makes a fateful decision--he sells his apartment and instead of buying a new one he announces that he will simply live with his children. All of them, in their different apartments, shuttling back and forth. After all, he's the patriarch, isn't that his right? Well, his children aren't quite as pleased with his plan as he is. They all have their lives, families, and more of an Israeli lifestyle than an Ethiopian one. The movie isn't narrative driven, it's more of a slice-of-life (which I know bored some of my friends) but just look at the Eshetu's expressive, weary face and director Bazi Gete's probing, documentary-style direction and feel the loss of culture that Meseganio feels.

And that was the end of the first weekend of SFJFF.

Total Running Time: 445

My Total Minutes: 404,516

Jason goes to SFJFF--Day 3

A full day of movies in beautiful (and easier for me to get to) Palo Alto. Let's jump right in.

First up WELCOME TO LEITH, a very tense documentary about a  town of 24 in North Dakota. And then a new guy moves in. He's an old man, seems kind of lonely. His name is Craig Cobb, and he started buying up lots of land all over Leith. And then people learned what he's up to. He's an infamous white supremacist and he plans to get enough like-minded people to move to Leith and take over, completely democratically. And then the town reacts. Filmmakers Michael Nichols and Christopher Walker get remarkable access to people and town proceedings, getting very candid interviews on both sides, as well anti-racist activists (like the Southern Poverty Law Center, who've had a file on him for a long time.) Tensions are clearly at a boiling point for a long time, and you just wait for something to explode, wondering who will do something really stupid and dangerous first. A fascinating story about how to react to open racism in a land that also values free speech.

And then I needed something a little lighter, so the next program delivered, starting with the short YIDLIFE CRISIS: BREAKING THE FAST. An episode of a web series, this one is about Yom Kippur in Montreal, and the struggle of poutine vs piety.

That was the lead-in to THE MUSES OF ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER. I haven't read Singer since I was a child, and even then we were more of a Shalom Aleichem family. But I know him as a comical Jewish writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, (one of the) only Yiddish writers to win. Of course, what I've read of him I read in English, and this documentary is the story of his translators. After Saul Bellow translated his Gimpel the Fool, he was worried it was so good that people would give Bellow the credit instead of him. So he chose to direct the translations himself--and collected what he called a "harem of translators" to do it. All women, all fairly young and pretty. And he clearly enjoyed it. Yeah, he was kind of a dirty man...or maybe that's just his legend. Many translators were sure he slept with all of them but her, and of course they can't all be right. Beyond that what I found most fascinating is how he worked closely on the English translations but intentionally changed things--not just idioms, but entire endings are different in the Yiddish and English versions. He knew in Yiddish he was writing for a Jewish audience and in English he was reaching out to a non-Jewish audience. Which makes it even more interesting that for translations to other languages (even Hebrew) he wanted the translators to start with the English version. A fascinating and funny look at the man, his translators, and the act of translation. Kind of makes me want to read (or re-read) some of his stories.

And then the next film was ONCE IN A LIFETIME. Umm...due to a scheduling goof of mine, I ended up watching this two days in a row. And it holds up to multiple screenings. Here's what I said just the day before:

And then ONCE IN A LIFETIME is a fresh take on the "inspiring teacher" genre. Madame Guégen has taught for 20 years, and for some reason she still likes it, despite an uncontrollable class who can bring a substitute teacher to tears. So she challenges them to take on an after-school project, to enter the annual contest about World War II and the Shoah sponsored by the French education ministry. The subject is the experience of children and adolescents in Nazi concentration camps. And her students don't know where to begin. Many are Muslim, and have a very different opinion of Jews, almost all are afraid of failure, and none of them work well with others. But sure enough, her persistence, patience, encouragement, and a little discipline transforms the kids. Which would all be kind of cliche, except that it's portrayed with such realism and sincerity. It definitely helps that Ahmed Dramé, who plays one of the students, actually lived this. The story is based on his experience, and it fosters a reality that makes it all work. It means that when they visit a Holocaust memorial or speak to a survivor, or are shocked by pictures they find...it's not just triggers for an emotional response in the audience, it's the reality of kids who haven't thought much about this history to wake up. Seeing a kid get angry when he finds out the French could've saved their Jewish children (the Germans really didn't want them) but didn't carries an intensity that probably wouldn't have worked as well if it didn't earn the realism by then. A very good film.

All I'll add is that Ahmed played Malik, who is sort of the class clown. And his transformation is perhaps the best of all (no surprise, since he co-wrote it.)

And then next up was RAISE THE ROOF, a really amazing documentary about learning, architecture, building, history, art, culture, and Jewish history in Poland. Professor Rick Brown runs Handshouse studios, where he's a big proponent in learning by doing. And his "doing" is building historical creations using traditional tools and techniques, so learning isn't just learning how to build, but learning about the life, techniques, and cultures of builders from the past. He--with his students and his wife--has built Egyptian obelisks, human-powered medieval cranes, and bushnell submarines. And now their goal is a traditional Polish wooden synagogue, with a multi-tiered roof and a beautiful, colorfully painted ceiling. All of them in existence were destroyed by the Nazis, so all they have to go on is pictures and notes from scholars at the time. Meanwhile, in Warsaw another group is building a museum dedicated to the history of Polish Jews (after all, despite waves of pogroms, prior to the Nazis they had been an integral part of society for a thousand years, and it would be a shame if all they're remembered for is their end.) So a multi-year project is launched to build the roof structure, learn the paint dye techniques of the time, practice, learn, practice, learn, and eventually...created incredible beauty. Which you can see if you happen to be in Poland and go to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. But Rick and his wife Laura were there for the Q and A afterwards, and mentioned that they'd love to build another one, this time in America. So hopefully that will happen. Better yet, take their class and help build it yourself (note: I have no idea when/if that will happen. I guess follow their website for details?)

And finally, I ended the night with A LA VIE. The story starts in Auschwitz--specifically, the evacuation of Auschwitz. There Hélène is a survivor, and so is her best friend, the Dutch girl Lili. Sadly their friend Rose didn't make it. Back in Paris, she marries her old sweetheart, despite him being impotent from Nazi medical experiments. But she keeps putting ads in Yiddish international papers hoping to find Lili. And finally, one day it works. So they arrange for a weekend getaway at Berck-sur-Mer by the sea to catch up and party. And who should join them, to the surprise of Hélène, but Rose, not dead after all (in fact, living in Montreal with a pretty wealthy husband!) The brief holiday is full of surprises, drama, love, friendship, and... Hélène catches the eye of a handsome young man who works at Club Mickey, a Disney-themed seaside park for the kids. And after all, having an impotent husband, as nice as he is, has gotten to her...A sweet story about recovering from the childhood trauma of the Holocaust and finding a way to once again celebrate life.

And that was the start of the big first weekend of SFJFF for me.

Total Running Time: 456 minutes
My Total Minutes: 404,071

Jason goes to Jewfest North--Day 2

I suppose I should be a little more professional (I do get press tickets here after all) and call it by its right name--the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Okay, this will be the only time I call it by my nickname for it. 

So anyway, I skipped opening night to catch the Thrillpeddlers' Club Inferno (and because the opening film will be playing later at a time that's convenient for me) but I was up at the Castro for a couple of films Friday night (ummmm...yeah, instead of Seder. I remember when this festival didn't play anything on Friday night, but that's beside the point.) A couple of good French films last Friday night.

THE ART DEALER is a story about art stolen from Jewish families by the Nazis prior to and during WWII. But it tells the story as a sort of crime thriller, with intrigue, mystery, and political obstruction. Esther's husband is an art dealer. He brings home a beautiful painting to research and appraise it. By sheer coincidence, her father is there and reacts to it. A little searching, and she finds out that this beautiful (and expensive) painting used to belong to her grandparents. And her searching leads to much more. Up to 200 paintings that were...well, maybe stolen, maybe (semi-)legally transferred to her great-uncle. The intrigue gets a little complicated, but it involves Nazis (of course) but also collaborators, and a French government that's unwilling and uninterested in settling the accounts and returning stolen art to the rightful heirs (in no small part because that art has ended up in some pretty famous museums.) As Esther digs further, sinister forces close around her, and threatens her family, career, sanity, and maybe even her life. A cool, neo-noir take on a fascinating issue of injustices long left unresolved.

And then ONCE IN A LIFETIME is a fresh take on the "inspiring teacher" genre. Madame Guégen has taught for 20 years, and for some reason she still likes it, despite an uncontrollable class who can bring a substitute teacher to tears. So she challenges them to take on an after-school project, to enter the annual contest about World War II and the Shoah sponsored by the French education ministry. The subject is the experience of children and adolescents in Nazi concentration camps. And her students don't know where to begin. Many are Muslim, and have a very different opinion of Jews, almost all are afraid of failure, and none of them work well with others. But sure enough, her persistence, patience, encouragement, and a little discipline transforms the kids. Which would all be kind of cliche, except that it's portrayed with such realism and sincerity. It definitely helps that Ahmed Dramé, who plays one of the students, actually lived this. The story is based on his experience, and it fosters a reality that makes it all work. It means that when they visit a Holocaust memorial or speak to a survivor, or are shocked by pictures they find...it's not just triggers for an emotional response in the audience, it's the reality of kids who haven't thought much about this history to wake up. Seeing a kid get angry when he finds out the French could've saved their Jewish children (the Germans really didn't want them) but didn't carries an intensity that probably wouldn't have worked as well if it didn't earn the realism by then. A very good film.

Total Running Time: 200 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,616