The thirtieth annual San Diego International Jewish Film Festival has passed, closing on Sunday, Feb 23rd, 2020. There was a good variety of films including indies, documentaries, histories and comedies. I wish I could have seen more, but what I did see did not leave me disappointed.
The Humorist (Russian) According to the director, Mikhail Idov, it’s about being a comic in an authoritarian society and a Jew in an anti-Semitic society. The Humorist is also the first Russian language film with a Jewish protagonist. Comrade Boris Arkadiev is a Soviet-approved stand-up comic, which means that all of his routines must be pre-approved by the KGB. And it’s not easy to be funny without crossing any lines. Not everyone who smiles and fawns is your friend, and a pointed barb in the wrong direction can get you a one-way ticket to a gulag. There are moments that are truly unnerving and you realize just how high the stakes are.
The Last Supper/Das Letzte Mahl (German) Florian Freich’s Last Supper gives us a seat at the table of the Glicksteins, a Jewish family in Berlin in 1933. Three generations sit around the table discussing the events of the day. Hitler has just been made Chancellor. Things look bad, but it can’t be that bad, can it?
“Family: the biggest battlefield in which a man can prove himself worthy.”
As with any family, they’re not on the same page. Aaron Glickstein is a wealthy financier who enjoys his life of comfort and privilege. He fought in WWI and still considers himself a patriotic German. So he doesn’t like it when he learns that his daughter Leah is emigrating to Palestine.
Aaron’s sister Monika, has taken a hard left, admiring the works of Karl Marx and longing for a global society of equality. However, his son, Michael admires Hitler because “he says what many have been thinking.” Tall, handsome and brimming with anger, he wants to goose-step alongside the Aryans.
It’s a family meal many of us can relate to especially in these contentious times. But it’s not a question of who’s right. The question is: Who’s listening?
Douze Points (French, Hebrew, Moroccan, English) After the heaviness of Nazis and the KGB, it’s nice to end with a comedy. Yet the constant stress of the situation in Israel lends itself to some pretty dark humor.
Tarik Jihad (aka TJ) is an aspiring pop-star in France. Shunned by his Moroccan-Muslim community, TJ dresses flamboyantly like a young Elton John … maybe even gayer. When TJ qualifies for a European talent show in Tel Aviv, his local chapter of ISIS sees an opportunity.
Making him an offer he can’t refuse, TJ’s estranged childhood friend Rasul is going with him to Israel in order to commit an act of terrorism. But to pull this off, Rasul must undergo a “gay makeover” and become “Russell,” TJ’s partner, which rattles the handle on Rasul’s own closet door.
The Mossad are onto them, sneaking, stalking and brutally beating witnesses for information. Yet even Mossad agents have their love interests and personal problems at home.
Douze Points is a gay rom-com mixed with Mission Impossible baked into a zesty soufflé that does not fall flat.
Douze Points reminds us that in the most stressful times we still need to laugh, to love and to make life an adventure.
Raise a glass to the Center for Jewish Culture’s film selection committee for another successful San Diego International Jewish Film Festival. And thank you to the many volunteers who make it happen by vetting, organizing, escorting and counting ballots. If you haven’t been, you need to go and bring a friend. But get your tickets early. Houses tend to fill up fast.
And that’s show-biz.
Republished from San Diego Jewish World