NYJFF ’11: 36 Righteous Men

According to Orthodox Judaism, the Tzadik is a righteous figure who has absolutely no desire to sin. They are so cool, John Zorn named his avant-garde music label after them. Jewish-Argentine filmmaker Daniel Burman (pictured at left) documented the annual pilgrimage of a group of Rabbis and scholars to the tombs of revered Tzaddikim across Russia, Ukraine, and Poland in 36 Righteous Men, which has its world premiere at this year’s New York Jewish Film Festival at the Walter Reade Theater.

References in the Talmud identify thirty-six true Tzaddikim piously exist amongst us, unaware of their own significance or of their thirty-five counterparts. When each dies, they are replaced, lord willing, because it is only due to their presence that the world is spared the destruction it deserves. Not surprisingly, those venerated as Tzaddikim exemplified wisdom, leading instructive lives of enlightenment.

Indeed, it is a potent concept that could be richly explored in another documentary. While Burman includes a number of instructive stories courtesy of the considerable experts on the pilgrimage, the film often more-or-less reverts to travelogue. Also problematically, the audience never gets a particularly strong sense of the varied personalities making the trek with Burman.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of 36 Righteous Men is the way in which the journey spurred Burman to come to terms and finally embrace his own Jewish faith. Frankly, this is somewhat surprising because the Argentine Burman’s previous films are largely thought to be informed by his Polish-Jewish heritage and have frequently played at Jewish films festivals.

People of any faith can definitely learn something from Burman’s documentary. It is informative and ultimately quite life-affirming. Yet, it represents a bit of a lost opportunity, never really engaging viewers on a gut level. That is not necessarily Burman’s fault, since the cameras had to be safely turned off during the heaviest moments of the trek, but he never fills that emotional void. Certainly well intentioned and enormously significant when considering Burman’s own filmography, 36 Righteous Men screens twice this coming Wednesday (1/26) as the 2011 New York Jewish Film Festival continues at the Walter Reade.

Burman’s Empty Nest

They say you should write what you know, but what happens when a writer starts to lose his memory? That is the situation facing Leonardo, a celebrated novelist and the protagonist of Argentine director Daniel Burman’s Empty Nest (Spanish trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Leonardo bores easily during his wife Martha’s social outings. Fortunately, finds relief from their shallow conversation when he suddenly meets the insightful psychiatrist, Dr. Spivack. Time passes and their daughter moves out of their flat, leaving Leonardo and Martha with acute empty nest syndrome. While Martha copes by projecting her energies outward, Leonardo turns inward.

Though his memory seems to be slipping, his fantasy life is an active as ever. Yet conversely, Leonardo’s writing ability seems to have abandoned him, but he does not seem particularly troubled by the implications of his deteriorating capacity. If anything, he is more hedonistic, taking pleasure in food and female beauty. Family matters start to become nettlesome obligations, particularly his son-in-law’s supposedly brilliant first novel, which for a myriad of reasons, he cannot bring himself to read.

Eventually, Leonardo and Martha visit their daughter and her husband in Israel. Though, they are not particularly observant, Israel seems to perfectly fit the father’s increasingly dreamy moods. However, reality can always intrude in Israel, as when he spies a machine gun in the couple’s, readily available just in case it is needed.

Burman offers some fascinating meditations on memory and aging. Unfortunately, he uses a distractingly awkward narrative device that viewers just have to deal with. Still he creates some lasting visuals that surreally fit Leonardo’s mental displacement. Oscar Martinez is quite convincing as the established man of letters and Arturo Goetz has an entertaining screen presence as Dr. Spivack. The proceedings are also aided by Nico Cota and Santiago Rio’s elegant jazz and tango piano soundtrack, which gives the film a sophisticated atmosphere and maintains the film’s unexpectedly brisk pacing.

Given the seriousness of subject matter like the ravages of age and the illusiveness of the creative process, Nest is a surprisingly upbeat film. Though imperfectly executed, it has its own peculiar charms. Nest opens Friday (4/24) in New York at the Quad and on May 1st in Los Angeles at the Laemmle.