Menashe, 2017.
Directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein.
Starring Menashe Lustig and Ruben Niborski.
SYNOPSIS:
Within Brooklyn’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community, a widower battles for custody of his son. A tender drama performed entirely in Yiddish, the film intimately explores the nature of faith and the price of parenthood.
Spoken primarily in Yiddish and subtitled in English, Menashe explores a closed off area of Hasidic Jews living in Brooklyn, New York (and was even filmed in secret there) attempting to maintain their conservative, and quite frankly occasionally backward, religious and livelihood beliefs. It’s a film where a woman nervously mentions that it is a negative thing that some people within the community are opening up to the idea of females driving, and while there is a slight bit of humor to be found laughing at the old stereotype of women being dangerous behind the wheel, it’s a scary thought that one could think so low of their own gender.
These are the traditional beliefs permeating the background of a narrative centered on a grieving widowed father struggling to prove that he is fit to take care of his 10-year-old son solo. The opposition is the brother of Menashe’s (Menashe Lustig, not necessarily playing himself although the actor does have personal connections to the themes being presented) deceased wife, who has essentially taken custody of young Rieven mostly due to the fact that their beliefs lean toward the idea of a man requiring a wife to be able to effectively provide for a family. Menashe valiantly succeeds and stumbles throughout the film to express his worthiness of being a single parent, but thankfully the film is less black-and-white than one might assume, often not shying away from Menashe making mistakes with palpable consequences.
Placed in an ethically difficult predicament, Menashe is up front asked “What more is there to life than marriage and children”, a question that lingers in thought to the protagonist and audience throughout the brief 81 minute running time duration. Here is a man that wants nothing more than to be able to raise his child, but simply is not allowed to due to strict Hasidic Jewish beliefs, but as viewers watching Menashe bumble through his dead-end grocery store job (that can’t pay the bills on time) where he has a complete jackass for a manager, providing Rieven with cake for breakfast as he is oblivious to cooking, and at one point even drinking himself into a depressed stupor at a party, we do begin to understand that as much as a stuck up and pretentious jerk as the brother is, maybe Menashe is unfit. Furthermore, the realization is heartbreaking.
Aside from subverting expectations, observing the culture within this Hasidic Jewish dominated Brooklyn locale shines a light on their unorthodox lives. For one, it will be noticed right off the bat that the people in the community rarely use technology in contrast to a modern way of life where it is integrated seamlessly into most of everything, to the point where some seemingly and unfortunately can’t function without it. These are people fixated on, well, marriage and children; their way of life and honor is dedicated to the commitment and protection to their family. Obviously, this isn’t necessarily something to condemn, but when a daughter is visibly upset over the religion preventing her from going to college, it is frustrating. The complexities of the religion are on full display.
Menashe himself is a multidimensional character that demands a lot of breaking down and interpretation, but at his core is a well-intentioned, loving father. Unfortunately, the antagonistic brother-in-law is a bit thin, but it can be forgiven considering how highly he values his archaic thinking. There is a stinging sadness when Menashe discloses the reasoning for his wife’s death that resonates with the audience. Even with his faults, he’s a human being everyone can get behind, and while Menashe is a pretty basic story regarding child custody, it benefits from the setting and the unfamiliarity of the Hasidic Jewish community. And come on, let’s be real, those hats and crazy dreads make for awesome fashion.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – Chief Film Critic of Flickering Myth. Check here for new reviews weekly, friend me on Facebook, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
