NYJFF ’14: The Women Pioneers

The State of Israel was built by women.  Men too, but the pre-1949 kibbutz scene was truly an early feminist incubator.  However, the ideologically charged women who immigrated to the future Israel still endured plenty of hypocrisy and frustration.  Michal Aviad tells their stories through the diaries of ardent kibbutz residents in The Women Pioneers (a.k.a. Women/Pioneers, trailer here), which screens during the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival.

The hardcore Left’s kneejerk hostility to Israel is absolutely baffling, given its revolutionary and feminist roots.  After all, the kibbutz is essentially a collective farm.  Several of the featured pioneers were explicitly inspired by prominent women leaders of the Russian Revolution.  Of course, these strong-willed women were rather disappointed to learn their kibbutz’s governing council was entirely dominated by men.  They were also less than thrilled to be saddled with all the “domestic” chores, while equally resenting their exclusion from defensive duties during the uprisings.  As they asserted themselves, these policies slowly started to change, to an extent.

It is probably safe to say all the women diarists express mixed emotions on their kibbutz experience.  Not surprisingly, the whole liberated approach to sexuality seemed to work out a lot better for the men than the women.  Despite the ideological commitment of Aviad’s POV figures, the documentary often highlights the inherent weaknesses of the communal economic model.  That it worked at all is probably a testament to the dedication and fortitude of the early pioneers.

Aviad and research associate Tamar Katz assembled some striking archival photos that well suit the dramatic journal entries.  With co-writer Era Lapid, she conveys a vivid sense of kibbutz life, but they provide little context on the existential threats posed by growing anti-Semitic violence during the time of the Hebron Massacre and the 1936 riots. Still, there is a poignancy to the personal dramas that sustains the film.

At its svelte fifty-one minute running time, The Women Pioneers is easily digestible and its schedulability ought to merit serious consideration from PBS programmers.  Respectfully recommended for those intrigued by Israel’s pre-official statehood history, it screens twice at the Walter Reade this coming Tuesday (1/21) with the short film, I Think This is the Closest to How the Footage Looked.

NYJFF ’14: Before the Revolution

Jimmy Carter made the call to pressure out the Shah and give the Ayatollah a chance running things in Iran.  Needless to say, it did not work out well for his administration.  Given his vehement prejudices, it was probably grim consolation knowing developments in Iran were also bad for Israel. This seems rather obvious, but the pre-revolutionary extent of Israeli-Iranian cooperation and the size of the Israeli expat community will surprise many who watch director Dan Shadur & producer Barak Heymann’s Before the Revolution (trailer here) during the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival.

As Israel’s old Iran hands note for Shadur, the Persians never considered themselves Arabs.  For the Shah, an enemy of my enemy alliance with Israel was hardly unthinkable, but maybe not something he would broadcast from the rooftops.  Still, before the revolution heated up in earnest, Israeli contractors and assorted attaches socialized freely throughout Tehran.  The Embassy even sponsored standing room only outdoor screenings of Operation Thunderbolt, the Oscar nominated dramatization of the Raid at Entebbe.

This all changed rather quickly.  While Shadur only spent his infant months as an Israeli expat, friends of his late parents recount in great detail how fast the welcome back was pulled out from under their feet.  Not surprisingly, many of the talking heads in BTR demonstrate Israel’s liberal inclinations, blaming themselves for not showing more curiosity and concern for average Iranians’ living conditions.  Still, at least one senior consular veteran claims the Shah could have easily put down the uprising, but was blinded by his paternalistic (or condescending) love for his people.

Shadur certainly convinces viewers when the living was good, it was quite a party in Tehran for the expats.  The film indicts the Shah at every opportunity, obviously fearing it might be accused of trying to rehabilitate the friendly authoritarian, yet ironically, it is hard to avoid the conclusion the world would be a better place for everyone—especially including Iranians—had he been emboldened to cling to power.

Regardless of its geopolitical analysis, BTR vividly captures the spirit of a lost time and place and the Argo-like intrigue of their final days in-country.  It also adds further dimensions to how viewers might think about Iran’s place in the Bedlam of the region.  Recommended with mild quibbles, Before the Revolution screens with Pur, an excellent short documentary about the Soviet Refusenik experience, this coming Monday (1/20) and Tuesday (1/21) at the Walter Reade, as part of this year’s NYJFF.

NYJFF ’14: Pur (short)

Soviet Jewry faced systematic discrimination and religious persecution.  Yet, policies of segregation inadvertently facilitated an organized form of Jewish celebration and resistance.  Naturally, none of the large state universities would admit Jewish students, but Meit College would.  It was there a core group of students met and began staging underground productions of the traditional Purim Spiel pageant.  Anat Vovnoboy captures the oral history of the Purim Spiel veterans as they watch surviving footage of their Purim Spiel performances in her short documentary Pur, which screens during the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival.

Frankly, recording the Purim Spiel shows on amateur home video was a potentially dangerous practice, but history is much richer as a result.  As one of the participants notes, many of the early Communist leaders were Jewish, yet the revolution was followed by a pogrom that never really abated.  Few of Vovnoboy’s interview subjects were raised with any sense of what their Judaic heritage meant.  They more or less learned together as a loose group of constructively rebellious college students.

While they were not all necessarily Refuseniks per se, the Purim Spiel celebrants’ rediscovery of Judaic tradition largely coincided with the Refusenik movement addressed in NYJFF’s excellent opening night film, Friends from France.  Indeed, there were real risks involved for the Purim celebrants, several of whom would see the insides of Soviet prisons and interrogation rooms.  As a result, many of the lyrics of the program, such as “How did they let such a blood thirsty tyrant put a crown on his head” take on perilous political dimensions.  In fact, the Purim Spiel rather forthrightly addressed topical issues, even lampooning Saddam Hussein its final installment.

More than just talking heads, Vovnoboy is blessed with a cast of insightful and often witty interviewees.  Listening to their reminiscences is a pleasure.  She also displays a keen eye for telling archival footage.  There is no question this material could be expanded into a feature treatment, but for now it is a very good short doc.  Highly recommended, Pur screens with the intriguing Before the Revolution this coming Monday (1/20) and Tuesday (1/21) at the Walter Reade, as part of this year’s NYJFF.

NYJFF ’14: The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich

Wilhelm Reich was a Freudian psychoanalyst who claimed to have discovered a naturally occurring chi-like energy called Orgone that could cure sterility and cancer if patients spent enough time in his accumulator boxes.  If he sounds like crackpot to you, you’re not alone.  The Feds determined he was a dangerous fraud and prosecuted him accordingly. However, Antonin Svoboda takes a bizarrely hagiographic approach with his biographical drama, The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich (trailer here), which screens during the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival.

Reich could be very charismatic when he needed to.  When they met, he thoroughly charmed Einstein to such an extent he really thought the theoretical physicist would endorse his research.  That never happened.  In fact, his false Einstein hopes probably contributed to his troubles.  Reich has been indicted by U.S. Attorney Hills, the former counsel and business manager for Reich’s research institute, Orgonon.

It is not just Hills that is out to get Reich.  The FBI and the FDA are also on the case.  Even the Atomic Energy Commission gets an invitation to the party when Reich starts experimenting with radioactive isotopes.  Of course, their concerns seem rather defensible when Reich’s daughter suffers a mysterious bout of radiation sickness.

Essentially, Svoboda and co-writer Rebecca Blasband want viewers to come away thinking Reich was a persecuted Galileo.  Therefore, they are forced to be rather vague about the whole Orgone business.  For instance, Reich once argued the Northern Lights were a manifestation of Orgone, which is hogwash.  They also ignore his advocacy of free love, his UFO hunts, the paranoid delusions regarding his second wife, and the scandalous affair he had with one of his first patients, who died under rather murky circumstances.  Instead, they offer up Dr. Ewen Cameron (best known for his work with the CIA) as a Mad Doctor alternative, even though he and Reich are only tangentially related.

Despite the film’s obvious biases, Klaus Maria Brandauer still manages a fairly balanced portrayal of Reich, clearly depicting his single minded focus (bordering on mania) and his maddening irresponsibility. He leaves no doubt Reich partly contributed to his own travails. Unfortunately, Julia Jentsch and Jeanette Hain are just unremarkably nondescript as daughter Eva and second wife Ilsa Reich, respectively.  At least Birgit Minichmayr has some presence as Aurora Karrer, a reluctant government informer and “close colleague” of Reich.  It is also nice to see David “Sledgehammer” Rasche adding some flair as the supposed turncoat Hills.

At times, Svoboda makes Orgonon look like Walden Pond, but he leaves conspicuously unanswered questions lying all over the place.  After all, he can never assert with any authority just why Reich was right and the government was wrong, which does not leave much room for the film to stand on.  Brandauer does some nice work, but there is not much around him. Considering the strength of the line-up at this year’s NYJFF, The Strange Case of Wilhelm Reich should not be a high priority for anyone when it screens Thursday afternoon (1/16) and Saturday evening (1/18) at the Walter Reade.

NYJFF ’14: Amy Winehouse—the Day She Came to Dingle

Tragically, Amy Winehouse passed away only two and a half short years ago.  Could she already be due for a critical reassessment? A case could be made based on the stripped down and surprisingly soulful set recorded live for the Irish music television series, Other Voices.  Indeed, the intimate setting suited her sensibilities, judging from Maurice Linnane’s Amy Winehouse—the Day She Came to Dingle (trailer here), which screens during the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival.

Produced in a small Anglican church in the remote Irish coastal city of Dingle, Other Voices has become an unlikely launching pad for many top UK performers. Saint James is a small space, with a maximum capacity of eighty.  There is no avoiding the audience, but the right performer can feed off their energy.  Winehouse seemed to get that. In 2006, when still in the process of breaking through internationally, she performed a set of what are now her greatest hits, with only guitarist Robin Banerjee and bassist Dale Davis backing her.

In between the six full numbers, Day cuts to excerpts from the no gossip-all music interview John Kelly conducted with Winehouse that might surprise many people. When asked about her influences, Winehouse primarily discusses jazz artists, such as Thelonius Monk and Sarah Vaughan (who is also seen in a vintage performance of “I Got It Bad,” as a pleasant bonus).  She is also clearly knowledgeable about the UK jazz scene, singling out Soweto Kinch as a current favorite, so give her credit for that too.  Evidently she started in jazz and even still played private duo gigs with a piano accompanist as late as 2006.

When watching Day, one gets the sense Winehouse might have been happier playing smaller, upscale jazz clubs than arenas and massive festivals like Glastonbury.  While her Dingle repertoire is arguably more closely akin to 1960’s soul and girl groups, “Love is a Losing Game” has a bit of jazz rhythm to it, making it one of the highlights of the set. However, the stark arrangement of “Back to Black” is a defining standout and rather spooky sounding in retrospect.

At one point, Winehouse helpfully reminds viewers of her Russian Jewish heritage, thereby explaining why Day is a selection of this year’s NYJFF.  It is a bit of a curve ball, but receptive viewers might find the manageable one hour program boosts their appreciation of Winehouse. After all, nobody from Dingle has a critical word to say about her, including Saint James’ Rev. Mairt Hanley and the old fellow who picked her up at the airport.

An entirely positive addition to her recorded legacy, Amy Winehouse—the Day She Came to Dingle is recommended for Winehouse fans and those who follow British pop music in general. While it is surely destined to be released on some format here in America, it has its New York premiere this coming Tuesday (1/14) and Wednesday (1/15), screening with the short film First Lesson in Love at the Walter Reade Theater.

NYJFF ’14: Lonely Planet

It is easy to see why banishment to Siberia was a favorite method of punishment under the old Communist regime. It still seems like cold, isolated, economically depressed region, at least judging from the footage shot by an Israeli film crew.  Ostensibly, they are looking for Mishka Zilberstein, who as young Jewish boy reportedly took refuge from the National Socialists with the wolves in the Belarus forest.  Oddly enough, Zilberstein’s urban legend might be the only thing that is true in Edan Zeira’s docu-drama hybrid, Lonely Planet (trailer here), which screens during the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival.

Zeira and his Israeli-French crew are determined to find the mythical Mishka, but each lead turns out to be a dead-end.  Supposedly, the real life Zilberstein eventually settled in a remote corner of Siberia.  Everyone seems to know his story, but the locals are not exactly welcoming.  At least all the trouble Zeira and his colleagues got into was presumably fictional, unless Zeira really did agree to a shotgun wedding to a provincial police chief’s pretty daughter, in which case, Mazel tov.

This is a very strange film, for obvious reasons.  Yet, despite its postmodern gamesmanship, it is worth listening up when the real Zilberstein finally enters the picture.  Indeed, Zilberstein is a fairly well documented historical figure and viewers have no reason to doubt it is really him consenting to tell his story (aside from all the meta-meta business that came before).  It is a powerful tale, involving torture at the hands of both the National Socialists and the Soviets.  Essentially, Zilberstein was reduced to an animal state, at a time when animals were more humane than humans.

Zeira illustrates Zilberstein’s story with highly stylized black-and-white re-enactments. Clearly, they had a terrific handler for the wolves.  While his (presumed) humor is sometimes questionable, it always comes at his own expense.  Some might understandably take issue with his mash-up approach in a film that directly addresses the Jewish experience during WWII, but Zeira is unfailingly respectful in his treatment of Zilberstein. Fans of Guy Maddin will probably enjoy his deconstructive and surreal inclinations, whereas general audiences will appreciate Zilberstein’s testimony. Recommended for the somewhat adventurous, Lonely Planet screens twice this coming Thursday (1/9) at the Walter Reade Theater, as part of this year’s NYJFF.

NYJFF ’14: Ain’t Misbehavin’

You might not expect Fats Waller to provide the theme song for the docu-memoir of Marcel Ophüls, the director of The Sorrow and the Pity. However, those who closely followed the filmmaker’s career know he had already used Waller’s rendition of Irving Berlin’s “Waiting at the End of the Road” as the opening music for his Northern Ireland documentary, A Sense of Loss.  Ophüls just likes Waller.  Viewers will learn a few more things about Ophüls when he turns the camera on himself in Ain’t Misbehavin’ (trailer here), which screens during the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival.

As the son of Max Ophuls, filmmaking is in Marcel Ophüls’ blood.  It also meant he was born Jewish in Weimar Germany.  In Misbehavin,’ his most dramatic recollections chronicle the family’s life in exile, spanning France, Switzerland, Spain, and eventually America.  While Ophüls generally hopscotches from subject to subject as the mood strikes him, he gives his formative war years the focus they merit.

The rest of the film is a mixed bag, but there is plenty of interesting bits for film lovers to chew on.  Ophüls’ encounter with the sixty year old (but apparently still sultry) Marlene Dietrich turns out to be everything you would hope.  There is also plenty of good Hollywood dish on Preston Sturges and Howard Hughes, from the perspective of the senior Ophüls. Strangely, he only revisits his own films obliquely, rather than in-depth.  Nonetheless, Misbehavin’ helps put his controversial war crimes film The Memory of Justice into perspective. Commissioned by German television, it is controversial for equating American military operations in Viet Nam with National Socialist genocide.  According to the director, he tried to avoid such “relativism,” but control of the picture became contested and a version not authorized by Ophüls aired in Germany.

Ophüls often acknowledges his tribulations in passing asides that leave inevitable questions dangling in mind air (like “what did he just say about his suicide attempts”).  Yet, perhaps the strangest sequences involve a suspected affair between his wife, Régine (still living, but not talking) and his dear friend, François Truffaut.  Ophüls even puts the question to Jeanne Moreau, in an interview she seems to find just as baffling as the audience.

There is probably more of Ophüls sauntering about in Misbehavin’ than anyone really needs and it starts slower than molasses.  Nonetheless, the documentary provides a unique first-hand perspective on Golden Age Hollywood, the Nouvelle Vague, and WWII. It also proves he has good taste in music.  Recommended for fans of either Ophüls, Ain’t Misbehavin’ screens twice this coming Wednesday (1/8) at the Walter Reade Theater, as part of this year’s NYJFF, co-presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

NYJFF ’14: Friends from France

As a matter of policy, the Soviets automatically denied all requests from the so-called “Refuseniks” to immigrate to Israel, often spuriously claiming they were irreplaceable specialists (who were then duly fired from their positions).  As it happens, Victor Rybak really is a highly respected authority in the field of physics, much like Sakharov.  His uphill battle to join his wife in Israel will profoundly affect two young French cousins in Anne Weil & Philippe Kotlarski’s Friends from France (trailer here), the opening night selection of the 2014 New York Jewish Film Festival, co-presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Carole Brikerman is a passionate Zionist, who supports the Refuseniks’ aspirations for Israel.  Jérôme Berkowitz is passionate about his cousin Brikerman. Despite his mixed feelings, Berkowitz joins his cousin on a leftist guided tour of Odessa.  Pretending to be newlyweds, they will secretly visit Jewish dissidents, bringing smuggled care packages and offering moral support.  Berkowitz resents what he considers Brikerman’s Zionist proselytizing, while struggling with his arousal from their intimate proximity.  However, when they pay a call on Rybak, Berokwitz meets someone far more cynical than himself.

Rybak has good reason to be jaded.  He endured constant torture in a Communist mental hospital, intended to force him to denounce his beloved wife, who had successfully reached Israel ahead of him. While imprisoned, he secretly maintained a diary.  Not only did he document the systemized abuse and summary executions, he also included deeply personal passages of erotic longing, meant solely for her eyes.

Even in translated subtitles, the words of Rybak’s diary ring with truth and poetry.  They are easily the most compelling element of Weil & Kotlarski’s screenplay.  It is easy to understand why Brikerman’s network would want to publish it and why the Soviets would be determined to prevent such an embarrassment. They also open a deep window into the Refusenik physicist’s soul.  For all his exterior gruffness, Rybak is a haunted romantic at heart.

Vladimir Fridman is simply extraordinary as Rybak.  It is an acutely human and humane portrayal, conveying all his messy complications and understandable bitterness.  It is only January, but Fridman’s work should be noted for year-end lists. He instills Friends with power and integrity whenever he is on-screen.

In contrast, Soko and Jérémie Lippmann simply are not in the same league.  Still, much like his character, Lippmann slowly sneaks up on viewers, developing a distinct presence and persona down the stretch.  Evidently, Soko is France’s current “It Girl,” so it is nice she wants to appear in a film like this.  At least she is more engaging than in the grossly over-rated Augustine.  She does not undermine any of the proceedings, but it is hard to see her in the way other characters do.

Weil & Kotlarski vividly capture oppressive vibe of Communist era Odessa.  At times Friends functions as a surprisingly good Cold War thriller. It probably holds some sort of distinction as a film noticeably critical of both the Soviet Union and the Zionist movement.  Yet, its sharpest, most illuminating observations involve the hypocrisy of the leftwing tourists.  Ostensibly on a personal mission of solidarity, they are clearly fearful of the Party’s apparatus of control—with very good reason.  Smart, literate, and sometimes quite moving, Friends from France is a strong way to open this year’s NYJFF.  Highly recommended, it screens twice this coming Wednesday (1/8) at the Walter Reade Theater.