A Nice Jewish Boy, Wed May 28, 7 P.m. Berney Theatre
Comedy/Drama | France | 2024 | Director: Noé Debré | French w/ Eng subtitles 90 minutes
The film A Nice Jewish Boy is titled, in the original French, Le Dernier Juif, the Last Jew. In this lovely, delicate film, 26 year old Ruben and his mother are the last Jews living in a subsidized housing project outside of Paris. Once there was enough of an Algerian Jewish population to sustain a kosher store and a synagogue, but both have recently closed. In a sad but amusing scene, Ruben gives up on the thought of buying kosher chicken for his mother, and buys a halal chicken instead. The habitually lying Ruben tells her he went out of his way to find her a kosher chicken, but somehow she can tell it’s not right, and insists that Ruben re-kosher the whole apartment.
Everyone else has made aliyah or gone to safer parts of Paris, but Ruben and his mother can’t put it together to leave. It’s not clear which of them needs more care, Ruben, the lost, drifting, uber-nebish of a luftmensh, or his ill, ever-contradictory mother, but they are devoted to each other, and their relationship is tender and sweet.
All through the film, Ruben tries to move on. He’s an adult – why doesn’t he make it happen? At times I felt like yelling at the screen “Go, already!” Ruben and his mother feel attached to their surroundings and their friendly neighbours, although there is unfriendliness around them too.
There’s a lot of comedy in the film, often arising from absurd situations and encounters.The film subtly deals with casual racism on the part of the Arab and Black neighbours. A young Black neighbour tells Ruben that he doesn’t like Jews, although Ruben is OK. Ruben asks him if he knows any other Jews, and the young man says he only knows one other Jew, who is also an OK guy. Ruben and his mother have prejudices of their own as well. There is also really funny tokenism in the town – the mayor tells Ruben he can’t possibly leave, because “we are an inclusive community, welcoming everyone!”
Often the film proceeds at a leisurely pace, the camera lingering on the sensitive faces of the fine actors. The mother has a beautiful smile and pours out so much love and admiration for her son. I found myself asking how aware she is of Ruben’s outrageous lies.
A Nice Jewish Boy is gentle and wistful, filled with nostalgia and longing. It’s quirky and surprising, and ultimately a kind and tender portrait of two loving souls.
I Had the Heart , Wednesday May 29 7 p.m.
Comedy | Argentina | 2024 | Director: Oliver Kolker | Spanish w/Eng subtitles 106 minutes
I Had the Heart is a gorgeous, beautifully acted tribute to tango music and all it means to Argentinians.
Moti Cohen grew up with his father’s beloved tango music. For his Dad, we learn “tango was his life and his greatest frustration”, as he clung to hopes of a breakthrough in music. But by the time Moti was a teen he dreamed of becoming a rock producer. He succeeded for a while, but the film quickly fast forwards to sometime in or near the present, when things are going badly for Moti – his career is tanking, his marriage has ended, his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. He’s given a last chance to make good with a production company. The gig? For a music festival,featuring mostly rock and rap, the bosses want a brand new tango star, a secret, hidden gem. Moti has rejected tango for years, but he wants the work, and he finds a very unlikely tango singer. He recognizes the singer’s talent, and begins to nurture him and bring him out of his shell. The trajectory is a bit like a fairytale, since absolutely everyone is enchanted by the singer’s performances. But it’s by no means clear how the story will develop.
We watch Moti and the singer, Bartolo, feeling their way through their working partnership and their friendship. The main narrative of the film is Moti’s, as he copes with the music business, his lingering feelings for his ex, and the elaborate bar mitzvah plans for his son. The relationships in the film are complex, sentimental and filled with emotion, reflecting the sad, wistful or heart-broken lyrics of the tango songs.
There is so much really satisfying music in the film, both uptempo milongas that encourage listeners to dance, and slower, wrenching ballads that hold audiences spellbound. The arrangements and singing are moving and lovely.
We are encouraged to become believers, “Tango reveals a truth to the world.”
Swedishkayt, Sat. June 7 8 p.m.
Documentary/Comedy | Canada | 2025 Directors: Eli Batalion, Jamie Elman | English, Swedish and Yiddish | 76 minutes
The comedy duo Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman star in the successful web series YidLife Crisis. In this enjoyable documentary, they bring their shtick to Stockholm, to explore Yiddish language and Jewish identity in Sweden. One-liners and comedy bits are sprinkled among fascinating interviews with Swedish people (Jewish and non-Jewish) who have an interest in preserving Jewish history and the Yiddish language in their community.
Sweden has a policy of supporting minority languages as official languages of the state. In the 1990s, the list of official heritage languages was assembled. Originally, the petition of the Yiddish-speaking.community was denied. The representative who worked for the inclusion of Yiddish tells her story. “I told them, ‘My tears will not disturb you at night. Jewish tears never matter.’ Then I went straight to the Prime Minister. The timing was perfect – he was about to open the first Holocaust conference held in Sweden. I told him, ‘With one stroke of the pen, you are wiping out Yiddish in Sweden, just as it was wiped out in Poland, and the Soviet Union, and by the Nazis.’” He listened, and Yiddish became an official historic language.
The impact has been “unbelievable. People are taking it as a gift from heaven. There is a renaissance.” With financial support from the government, there are Yiddish courses, Yiddish music events, and a Yiddish theatre. Many people find their Jewish roots and identity primarily in Yiddish.
Batalion and Elman have a great time joking, singing and noshing around town. They meet elders of the community and young scholars, and interact warmly with all of them. The film asks many good questions about how Jews frame their identity, and says that we all are, in some way, in the throes of a YidLife Crisis.
