Menashe | Imamother

tichellady

Wed, Aug 23 2017, 9:09 pm

I was expecting to like this movie and did not. Found it depressing and disturbing. If you saw it, what did you think?

cnc

Wed, Aug 23 2017, 9:14 pm

tichellady wrote:

I was expecting to like this movie and did not. Found it depressing and disturbing. If you saw it, what did you think?

I did not see it, but spoke to someone that did and they gave the same review as you.

imasinger

Wed, Aug 23 2017, 9:18 pm

I found it thought provoking. Some great acting, and a reasonably authentic presentation of frum life.

amother

Royalblue

Wed, Aug 23 2017, 9:36 pm

I thought the story basically went nowhere. There were no plot twists or moments of drama. It was kind if interesting seeing chassidim speaking Yiddish at the movie theatre, but in terms of an interesting and exciting story, there was none.

Ruchel

Thu, Aug 24 2017, 7:57 am

My parents haven't been to the cinema since Ushpizin and I considered bringing them. Now I won't Wink

imasinger

Thu, Aug 24 2017, 8:23 am

If they're thinkers, I'd say to take them, Ruchel. I don't think it was meant to be exciting. It's not light-hearted froth. But it was a good movie, imo. Here are some things my family was discussing at the end:

What's the difference between a shlemiel and a shlemazel? How do we limit ourselves by the criticism of those around us? Are there times when love and play are more important than structure? How do people express love?

How much damage is done by denying our own emotions, or those of the people around us?

When our community expects one thing, and it doesn't sit well with us, how do we deal?

What factors are most important for a child? What sacrifices do we make in order to achieve those goals?

Our local press (secular) gave it 4 stars.

Quote:

By Peter Keough Globe Correspondent
August 17, 2017
Joshua Z. Weinstein’s funny, heartbreaking, impeccably observed, and nearly flawless drama “Menashe” opens on a crowded street in the Hasidic community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where all the men go about their business, cellphones to their ears, pristinely garbed in black suits, white shirts, and black hats.

Only one stands out, the grocery store clerk of the title (Menashe Lustig, in a nuanced portrayal of good intentions undermined by fecklessness and misfortune); hatless, coatless, portly, and disheveled, he’s a slob.

He’s also a widower who’s been denied custody of his son, Rieven (Ruben Niborski, who delivers one of the best child performances of the year), by the rabbi, or “Ruv” (Meyer Schwartz, bringing depth to a role that can easily sink into stereotype), until he remarries. Meanwhile, the boy has been placed with the family of Menashe’s brother-in-law, Eizik (Yoel Weisshaus), a forbidding figure with long, black hair and an intimidating beard that makes him look like a solemn version of Leon Russell from the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour.

Eizik holds Menashe in contempt. “You have no respect for yourself. Why should I have respect for you?” Most people seem to agree.

Even his son has his doubts. Though he likes it when his father takes him to his workplace and they play hide and seek in a storeroom smelling of gefilte fish, he is annoyed with his limited resources and distressed when he must hang around as Menashe sings and gets drunk with cronies. Eizik might be strict and narrow-minded, but he does offer security, and probably a full refrigerator.

Determined to regain the community’s respect and prove that he is a responsible person capable of raising his son on his own, Menashe declares that his wife’s upcoming memorial will take place at his apartment. His preparations are earnest, desperate, sad, and seemingly doomed to fail.

Weinstein brings a palpable authenticity (attributable in part to a cast made up of local non-actors) to this universally resonant story, rendering it unique and specific in a meticulously detailed setting. Never heavy-handed, he uses subtle effects to make a point. The “respectable” places, such as Eizik’s home and the Ruv’s office, are shot in a rich palette of reddish browns and golds, but Menashe’s sorry apartment is shot in flat, lifeless blues and grays. He is on the outside looking in at a world of warmth, comfort, and riches.

Though taking place in the rarefied confines of a Hasidic community, the theme of Menashe’s story is common to that of many genre films — the plight of an individual torn between conformity and independence. When the opening scene is returned to at the end but with significant changes, Menashe has gained something precious, but at the expense of something essential.

Ruchel

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 5:16 pm

They're thinkers but not into unnecessary drama and stuff.

4thebooks

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 5:20 pm

Is there anywhere I can watch it online?

amother

Ruby

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 5:34 pm

deleted

chestnut

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 5:39 pm

amother wrote:

This story is based on real life events.

I just can't understand why community and family didn't rally around Menashe, helping him with day to day stuff. How is taking his kid away better?? Does this rabbi take away kids from all families that's not up to par??

Ruchel

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 5:48 pm

Due to illnesses, and obviously war, lo alenu, a number of my male chassidish relatives have been left sometimes with kids in the double digits. No one removed anything nor even (!) pressed for remarrying early/

MagentaYenta

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 5:52 pm

Ruchel wrote:

This is a point I wanted to raise. I'm not chassidish nor is my family. I thought it so odd that simply because the man lost his wife he would have to lose his son. How extraordinarily painful.

abound

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 6:05 pm

MagentaYenta wrote:

This is a point I wanted to raise. I'm not chassidish nor is my family. I thought it so odd that simply because the man lost his wife he would have to lose his son. How extraordinarily painful.

It seems that his son was removed because he was not capable of providing his son with a stable environment, not because he was single.

Ruchel

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 6:07 pm

I think they mixed up with the thing about girls going with mom and boys above 3/6 with dad during a divorce in old school situations. My husband had friends in this situation (as children). Even this is different nowadays.

chestnut

Sun, Aug 27 2017, 6:12 pm

abound wrote:

It seems that his son was removed because he was not capable of providing his son with a stable environment, noot because he was single.

Fine, he has a low paying job (who is to blame, exactly, in that community for that??) he might not be the brightest in the world. That's enough to take his son whom he lives so much and who already lost his mother, away??
Why didn't his family and community help him, financially and logistically (meals, cleaning help, etc.) instead??