Jewish
Afterward
Afterward is a personal documentary for Ofra Bloch. With a career in psychoanalysis and a desire to make a movie, she sets out to talk with people of various backgrounds about how they’ve been effected by their culture’s history, followed by discussions examining guilt. And with so much cultural animosity taking place in the modern world, Bloch digs deeper to see is if these claims are proven to be contradictive of current discrimination, and then pushes further…
Disobedience
Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman) follows up his recent Oscar win with Disobedience, an unforgettable drama that will have everyone talking.
Toronto Jewish Film Festival 2018: ‘Disobedience’
Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman) follows up his recent Oscar win with Disobedience, an unforgettable drama that will have everyone talking.
Deli Man
By: Addison Wylie There have been so many recent films catered to the foodie crowd, you expect Erik Greenberg Anjou’s Deli Man to do the same. Luckily for audiences wanting something new, this love letter to Jewish delicatessen is more focused on the history behind the food. The film coheres to the logic of its main subject Ziggy Gruber (owner of Houston, Texas’ hot spot Kenny and Ziggy’s), and agrees there’s more to a delicious…
Wish I Was Here
By: Addison Wylie Epiphanies are mentioned in Wish I Was Here, Zach Braff’s return as a filmmaker. It’s during a scene where Braff’s Aidan Bloom camps out with his two children Tucker and Grace (played by Pierce Gagnon and Joey King) on the outskirts of Los Angeles, where they find a gorgeous view of the desert on top of three isolated boulders. This talk about epiphanies made me nostalgic for Braff’s 2004 indie hit Garden…
Ida
By: Addison Wylie The concept of a devout character finding out their secret past is always going to be an intriguing premise – especially when the unexplored involves religion. That’s what happens to Anna in Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida. Before she takes her vows of being a nun, Anna’s urged to meet with her only living family member. She sets out to meet her estranged Aunt Wanda, and fortunately does. She’s informed by her agitated Aunt…
Nicky’s Family
By: Addison Wylie Nicky’s Family is an elementarily formatted documentary using a cluster of different stock footage from the 1930’s, with interviews helping navigate the viewer through a touching real life tale. It’s a structure that’s very simple and we’ve all seen it before. The documentary also appears to have been shot on substandard video, which leads to a dated image that’s generally murky with visible blemishes. Furthermore, the overall feeling of Nicky’s Family is…
Lore
By: Addison Wylie A great deal of unease works in filmmaker Cate Shortland’s favour. Her dramatic period piece Lore always feels restless. Characters – young and old – are constantly looking for stability and safety and the environments are always changing. That’s not to hint that Lore is inconsistent with a short attention span. It’s a compliment that Shortland has found the perfect unsettling tone to allow all her elements to work on. Lore shows…