Jewish film blog

Let's Twist Again

Caroline Westbrook reviews Oliver Twist (courtesy of Daily Jews)

Legendary film director Roman Polanski got in touch with his Jewish roots in his last film, the Holocaust drama The Pianist – and won himself an Oscar into the bargain. Three years on, and he's followed it up with another project with a Jewish theme – this time, it's Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist that he's bringing to the screen.

This story's been filmed several times before, most famously as the musical Oliver! in the 60s – but if you're expecting big song and dance numbers in Polanski's version, then you're going to be disappointed. For this is a by-the-book adaptation of the Dickens tale, about Oliver, young orphan boy who falls into the clutches of Fagin and his den of thieves. He is eventually rescued by a rich man who wants to adopt him – but Fagin, who is in the pay of the evil Bill Sykes, is determined to get Oliver back before he spills the beans on his pickpocketing past and gets them all into trouble.

Fagin – the Jewish character – was memorably played by Ron Moody in the musical version, and here Ben Kingsley (who has Jewish heritage himself) takes over the role.

In the original novel, Fagin is referred to as 'the Jew' on numerous occasions – and accusations of anti-Semitism have been levelled at the book since it was first published over 160 years ago. But here Fagin's
Jewishness is never actually mentioned, suggesting Polanski has found a way to tell this story without stooping to the usual stereotypes associated with Dickens' work.

Although Fagin is as unpleasant as ever, Kingsley gives him the same kind of human side that Al Pacino gave to Shylock in the recent film of The Merchant Of Venice – he's more of a pathetic character than
anything else. It's a great performance, that gets to the heart of Fagin without turning him into a pantomime villain.

This isn't the best adaptation of Oliver Twist by any means, but Polanski makes it enjoyable – while some adaptations of classic novels can be boring, this one isn't, and the story remains compelling even though the film is nearly two and a quarter hours long. A great introduction to Oliver Twist for those who don't know the story,  and even if you do know the story it's worth seeing.

Walk on Water review

This review courtesy of SomethingJewish.

SJ's Caroline Westbrook reviews Walk On Water, the most successful Israeli movie of all time in the US which has just been released in the UK. The film centres on Eyal, a Mossad hitman whose has to track down and kill an ageing Nazi war criminal.

The latest film from American-Israeli director Eytan Fox, Walk On Water (15) has already been a hit with audiences across the world, becoming the most successful Israeli movie of all time in the US and winning the Audience Award at the Washington Jewish Film Festival.

Now UK audiences have their own chance to see what the fuss is about – and those who do have the chance to check out this low-budget thriller won't be disappointed.

The film centres on Eyal (Lior Ashkenazi) a Mossad hitman whose latest task is to track down and kill an ageing Nazi war criminal who is in hiding. He attempts to trace his would-be victim by befriending his grandson Axel (Knut Berger), posing as a tour guide while he visits his sister in Israel. However, Eyal suffers a crisis of conscience after the pair become unexpectedly close – and when he travels to Berlin to complete the job (believing that the old man will resurface at his son's birthday party) he is unsure whether he can go through with it.

What follows is a tense and surprisingly touching thriller as the seemingly cold killer is forced to wrestle with personal tragedy (namely, his wife's suicide) and his own conscience. It's helped by an intelligent script (written by Gal Uchovsky) and great performances from the male leads – and while the underlying theme of Israel's attitude towards Germany and its past is ever-present, it's never allowed to dominate the action. If anything, the German characters find their past harder to come to terms with than the Israeli ones do – the central character confronts his own stereotypes and discovers that modern Germany is a very different place from the Germany of World War II.

Ultimately though, this works best as a study of friendship and as a tense thriller – one which entertains even as it makes you think. The fact that it's mainly in English (with some Israeli and German dialogue, subtitled in English), helps too. Well worth seeing.

Paradise Grove review

by: Caroline Westbrook 

The latest British Jewish comedy to secure a cinema release (following Suzie Gold and Wondrous Oblivion last year) is Paradise Grove, which follows the goings-on in a Jewish old age home as seen through the eyes of truculent resident Izzie Goldberg (Ron Moody).

Goldberg, who lives in the residential home run by his daughter, is about to turn 80 but wants to end his life and die with dignity, rather than become totally dependent on others. He turns to his half-Jewish grandson, who is struggling with his own identity, to help him kill himself.

Paradise Grove, the film debut of director Charles Harris, was around six years in the making and has been sitting on the shelf for some time awaiting a release. It's not hard to see why. This is a black comedy which is worryingly short on laughs and has a very weak screenplay – and while it tries hard to be clever and cutting, it fails miserably.

The cast, which also includes Rula Lenska and newcomer Leyland O'Brien, struggle to inject any life into the film and you just end up feeling sorry for them for being involved in it in the first place.

All in all, this is a bit of a shambles that ends up resorting to the same old stereotypes and situations that remind you why Jewish films have been so scarce in Britain over the past decade. With scripts like this floating around, is it any wonder producers shy away from involving themselves in contemporary Jewish themed projects?

Ultimately Paradise Grove tries to shock, but just ends up being shockingly bad.

The Hebrew Hammer

review by: Caroline Westbrook
first published on SomethingJewish.co.uk

There haven't been many Jewish action heroes in film history - well, come to think of it there haven't been any - but with The Hebrew Hammer, first time filmmaker Jonathan Kesselman seeks to redress the balance. And boy, does he succeed.

Not only is this one of the best Jewish comedies of the past ten years, blending smart satire with a barrage of just-plain-stupid sight gags to winning effect, but it wins even more points for its feelgood outlook - in a world where Jewish characters on film are all too often unsympathetic stereotypes or oppressed victims, it makes a real change to see positive Jewish protagonists that aren't afraid to celebrate their heritage or mercilessly poke fun at themselves.

Adam Goldberg (who you might remember from Saving Private Ryan, A Beautiful Mind and Friends), is the title character, aka private investigator Mordechai Jefferson Carver - who has remained true to his heritage despite being the only Jewish kid in his school (as shown in a hilarious pre-credits sequence).

Something of a hero in his Brooklyn neighbourhood, his crimefighting skills are put to the test when he is called upon by secret society The Jewish Justice League (JJL) to save Chanukah from Damian, the evil son of Santa Claus, who is hellbent on destroying the festival. To help him in his quest, Hammer teams up with Mohammed, leader of the Kwanzaa Liberation Front (whose own festival is equally threatened by Damian's scheme) - but can out hero beat the bad guys, save the festival and still find time to settle down with nice Jewish girl Esther (Judy Greer)?

With much of what passes for Jewish comedy these days still stuck in traditional stereotypical humour, it's refreshing to see something that blows the cobwebs off such conventions and takes a genuinely new approach to its subject matter. Goldberg is hugely appealing - super-cool, true to his religion yet still unable to cope with his overbearing mother (Nora Dunn) - and there's nice supporting turns from Greer and Peter Coyote as the bagel-munching head of the JJL.

Yet perhaps Hebrew Hammer's greatest strength is its ability to laugh at itself, and to make humour out of subjects that other Jewish comedies might frown upon. The jokes about Jewish mothers, accountants and food are played out in a self-mocking manner, making them far funnier than they would normally have been - and there's a lot of edgy satire here, in among the sight gags and latke jokes. Of course, not everybody may be amused by the appearance of the Jewish Worldwide Media Conspiracy, or Goldberg seeing off a bar full of Neo Nazis with a handful of firearms and an unprintable Sabbath greeting - but there's still no denying this is bold, original stuff that should not only appeal to Jewish audiences seeking something different but should capture the imagination of non-Jewish viewers as well.

If it takes off, The Hebrew Hammer should put Jewish comedy well and truly back on the map. And it's not before time.

Review first published on SomethingJewish.co.uk

The Hebrew Hammer is now out on DVD