Menashe
  • Film
  • Recommended

Review

Menashe

4 out of 5 stars

Though shot entirely in Yiddish, the father-son bonding in Joshua Z Weinstein’s moving domestic drama is universal and relatable.

Joshua Rothkopf
Advertising

Time Out says

Among its many subtle virtues, this all-Yiddish indie, shot on location in the Orthodox community of Brooklyn’s Borough Park, offers a textbook definition of that unluckiest of persons: the schlimazel. If the title character (Menashe Lustig, making a sensitive debut), a middle-aged grocery clerk, leaves his van’s back door ajar, a small fortune of fish will tumble out. If he leaves the oven unattended, his kugel will go up in smoke. Bad things happen to Menashe.

The worst of his tragedies: He’s recently widowed, leaving the fate of his teenage son (Ruben Niborski) in question. The plot is a touch obvious, but 'Menashe' still plays like a more culturally specific 'Kramer vs. Kramer', setting up a testy, fascinating dynamic between micromanaging rabbis and a naturally warm dad with wisdom of his own.

Release Details

  • Rated:U
  • Release date:Friday 8 December 2017
  • Duration:82 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Joshua Z Weinstein
  • Screenwriter:Joshua Z Weinstein, Musa Syeed, Alex Lipschultz
  • Cast:
    • Menashe Lustig
    • Yoel Falkowitz
    • Ruben Niborski
Advertising
You may also like
You may also like