Politics Derailed the Film about Cyrus the Great

The Cyrus Cylinder is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, through August 4, 2013. This reminds us...

From my post of 1/29/2010: Cyrus was supposed to be the subject of a historical epic film. We wonder what ever happened to that film. Our best guess is that the film industry has closed ranks and decided that given the current political leadership in that country, there will be no film made that extols the culture of Persia, modern day Iran. Not surprising then, modern reality trumps ancient history.

Here is what we said in a blog post about Cyrus and the film - way back in March 2005...

Critics say that Russell Crowe and the movie Gladiator helped revive the Hollywood genre of the so-called sword and sandals historical epic. Warner Brothers released Troy, an adaptation of The Iliad, with Brad Pitt as Achilles. Universal made a film hurling the Spartans into battle against the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae. Sony Pictures filmed a movie about Hannibal the Carthaginian general from the third century B.C.E.. Dino De Laurentiis produced a movie about Alexander the Great, co-financed by Universal and DreamWorks.

For the Jewish community this trend has been a mixed bag. In February 2004 Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, appeared. It is an epic retelling of twelve days of the life of Jesus. Because it implicates Jews in the death of Jesus, many feared that Gibson's film would be used by anti-Semites to trigger an onslaught of hatred and violence against Jews here in the US and around the world.

But there is reason for Jews and for all proponents of multiculturalism to be more sanguine about this revived sword and sandals fashion in film. In particular, a London-based company, co-owned by Marinah Embiricos, a relative of the Aga Khan and a member of the Greek shipping family that controls the Embiricos Group, has teamed with the Sultan of Brunei to finance a multi-million dollar film about Cyrus the Great.

These backers want to tell the story of Cyrus not just for the entertainment value. They believe that their film will inspire goodwill and world peace.

The title character, Cyrus the Great, lived from 580-529 BCE. Notably he founded the Achaemenian empire in Persia. Impressively, more than 2500 years ago, as emperor he freed the slaves in his empire.

Additionally, Cyrus has been admired by history as an enlightened liberator, not a heroic conqueror, because of his tolerance and respect for the customs and religions of every region of his great empire. Some might argue that Cyrus was the founder of multiculturalism.

From a global point of view, Cyrus was a trailblazer of epic proportions. A decree of Cyrus' social and political views inscribed on a clay cylinder, now in the British Museum, has been described as the first declaration of human rights. The pronouncement concerning his enlightened goals and policies has been recognized as a charter of the rights of nations. A replica of the cylinder is displayed at the United Nations. It declares,
History especially records that Cyrus was very good for the Jews. When he conquered Babylonia in 539 BCE he allowed the Jews to return to Judea. The Hebrew Bible records the Israelite perspective on his great magnanimity at the beginning of the book of Ezra,

. . .When my soldiers in great numbers peacefully entered Babylon... I did not allow anyone to terrorize the people... I kept in view the needs of people and all its sanctuaries to promote their well-being... Freed all the slaves... I put an end to their misfortune and slavery (referring to the Jews and other religious minorities). The Great God has delivered all the lands into my hand; the lands that I have made to dwell in a peaceful habitation...

The Persian Kurash Prism tells of this same multicultural generosity by Cyrus for many peoples and sanctuaries, and from the Persian perspective, Ms. Embiricos, the primary backer of the film, has said that she wants her production to promote harmony among all the world's religions. "We wanted to send out the message that people should be tolerant of each other's religion. It was a very spiritual time and we want to rekindle this. It is not that I want to make movies - I want to make this particular film."

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel -- he is the God who is in Jerusalem; and let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem." Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, every one whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem; and all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.

I am Kurash [ "Cyrus" ], King of the World, Great King, Legitimate King, King of Babilani, When I entered Babilani as a friend and when I established the seat of the government in the palace of the ruler under jubilation and rejoicing, Marduk, the great Lord, induced the magnanimous inhabitants of Babilani to love me, and I was daily endeavoring to worship him.... As to the region from as far as Assura and Susa, Akkade, Eshnunna, the towns Zamban, Me-turnu, Der as well as the region of the Gutians, I returned to these sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris the sanctuaries of which have been ruins for a long time, the images which used to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I also gathered all their former inhabitants and returned them to their habitations. Furthermore, I resettled upon the command of Marduk, the great Lord, all the gods of Kiengir and Akkade whom Nabonidus had brought into Babilani to the anger of the Lord of the gods, unharmed, in their former temples, the places which make them happy.  

Evidently there is now some good news for the Jews from the world of film.

All who support tolerance and peace in our precarious world must herald with enthusiasm the coming epic about the reign of Cyrus the Great.
The First Declaration of Human Rights By Cyrus The Great (The Cyrus Cylinder at the British Museum)

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GulfNews.com: Is ‘World War Z’ a pro-Israel film? Movie-goers in the gulf region share Talmudic views

Paramount Pictures’ World War Z movie, starring Brad Pitt, imagined that the world was overrun by zombies and that Israel, one of the few countries that knew they were coming, built a wall around itself to prevent zombies from invading.

Gulf News has a fairly balanced report about a new zombie movie. Pro-Israel? Some say yes, some say no.

Dubai/Muscat: Movie goers from the region had mixed feelings regarding the zombie apocalypse film World War Z, which has sparked controversy for an alleged supposed pro-Israel bias.

The movie, starring Brad Pitt, imagined that the world was overrun by zombies and that Israel, being one of the few countries that knew they were coming, built a wall around itself to prevent zombies from invading.

People from all over the world took to social media to point out the resemblance between the barrier built in the movie and the separation wall built by Israel in the West Bank to separate it from the occupied Palestinian population, adding that the movie was promoting Israel’s policies.

“While I was watching the movie I did feel like I was supposed to feel good about the wall, the fear of the zombies made the wall look comforting rather than atrocious. I felt like they were attempting a mind shift. It was also interesting that only the [Israeli intelligence agency] Mossad was able to figure out the problem before everyone,” said Canadian national Mohammad Syed, works in the oil trade sector in Dubai.

Dubai resident Aleena Khan, from Pakistan, also said she believed that the movie was glorifying Israel, adding that the movie presented a misleading picture of the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis.

“I don’t think it was trying to justify Israel’s occupation, but it was glorifying the Israelis by emphasising on peace and harmony of the two nations, which is far from the truth. One has to face facts and admit that Israel is hostile towards Palestinians. It was a very rose-tinted version of what the relationship between the Israelis and Palestinians actually is,” she added.

Dr Abdul Khaleq Abdullah Professor of Political Science at UAE University on the other hand thought that the wall symbolised Israel’s insecurity.

“Plenty of Israeli propaganda came from the movie but the fact that they built a wall in my opinion shows how Israel feels insecure and so would go to any length to protect itself even if it meant coming up with over-the-top solutions like building the barrier or wall”

Palestinian national Saif Khalil, did not think much about the wall symbolism however thought that referring to Occupied Jerusalem as part of Israel was uncalled for.

Other movie-goers in the region said some people, especially Arabs and Muslims, were reading too much into the movie.

Palestinian national Maen Hadid, who works in a Dubai-based media company, said he did not feel the movie was trying to convey a pro-Israeli policy message.
“I think that the movie showed Israel as a country that normally exists just like any other country but their solution was to build a wall to protect those left inside, including the Palestinian Muslims,” said Hadid.

Bader Al Lawati, an Omani, said that after watching the movie, he read about the controversial views in the media and, “didn’t even think about it that way while watching the movie.”

British teenager Gwynfor Callaghan, who was born and brought up in Oman, said those viewing the wall scene as symbolising the situation of Palestinians were overreacting.

“It is a fiction made by Americans, so don’t think that the scene was intended against a group,” the British School Muscat student said...

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Was James Gandolfini Jewish?

He was such a powerful acting persona, sure we'd like to claim him as a member of the tribe. But no James Gandolfini was not a Jew. Shockingly, he passed away at age 51. He was a superlative actor who made his biggest hit in the Sopranos on HBO, considered by many critics to be the greatest series of its kind of all time.

The Times tells about him:

James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. was born in Westwood, N.J., on Sept. 18, 1961. His father was an Italian immigrant who held a number of jobs, including janitor, bricklayer and mason. His mother, Santa, was a high school cafeteria chef.

He attended Park Ridge High School and Rutgers University, graduating in 1983 with a degree in communications. He drove a delivery truck, managed nightclubs and tended bar in Manhattan before becoming interested in acting at age 25, when a friend took him to an acting class.

Gandolfini's father worked as the head custodian at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey, and we assume the family was Catholic.

Haaretz wrote about his characters' Jewish links. Gandolfini  made a humorous Israeli ad for yes.co.il.

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Is Sigourney Weaver Jewish?

Now it is far-fetched that anybody would think that actress Sigourney Weaver is Jewish. No, Sigourney Weaver is not a Jew.

The tall actress who we know and love from Alien, to Working Girl to Avatar, and who we once met and told her how much we liked her work, is a Christian of Scottish-English extraction.

But it is noteworthy that IMDB reports that when she was young after graduating from high school in 1967, she spent several months on a kibbutz in Israel. /repost from 7/16/10/

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Is Bob Dylan Jewish?

Yes, Bob Dylan is a Jew. He may also be a Christian. He is one strange and famous musician whose personal views on things have always been hard to figure out.

Dylan turned 72 on his birthday, May 24, 2013.

Dylan was born a Jew named Robert Allen Zimmerman (Hebrew - Shabtai Zisel (or Zushe) ben Avraham) in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, and raised there and in Hibbing, Minnesota. His paternal grandparents, Zigman and Anna Zimmerman, emigrated from Odessa, Russia around 1905. His mother's grandparents, Benjamin and Lybba Edelstein, were Lithuanian Jews who arrived in America in 1902. His paternal grandmother's maiden name was Kyrgyz and her family originated from Istanbul.

Dylan’s parents were Abram Zimmerman and Beatrice "Beatty" Stone. When Dylan was six, his father was stricken with polio. The family returned to Hibbing, where Zimmerman grew up.

Now we read that Dylan is recording a Christmas album. Ryan McDuff, from the blog Bully! Pulpit reports:

LOS ANGELES, Calif -- Bob Dylan is recording his first Christmas album, Bullypulpit.com has exclusively learned and has been quietly compiling a collection that includes both Christmas carols and modern songs. At least four songs have reportedly been recorded for the album including, “Must Be Santa,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas" and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

The recording sessions have been taking place at fellow recording artist Jackson Browne's Groove Master’s Studios in Santa Monica, California, where Browne produced his album, "I’m Alive."

Prominent media expert and best-selling author Michael Levine said the move by Dylan was "completely consistent with his longstanding tradition of doing the unexpected. Concerning Bob Dylan literally nothing would surprise me which of course is part of his lasting appeal. He confounds like no other pop artist ever."

The inclusion of “O Little Town of Bethlehem," written by an Episcopal priest named Phillips Brooks in 1867 after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, is likely to fuel speculation about Dylan's religious beliefs that have swirled ever since he publicly converted to Christianity in 1979, recorded explicitly religious material on three subsequent albums and for a time refused to play his old songs. Religious references on subsequent recordings became less overt after 1981's "Shot of Love."

The other three songs, “Must Be Santa” by Hal Moore and Bill Fredricks, “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Buck Ram, Kim Gannon and Walter Kent were all written between 1943 and 1960.

"A Christmas album by Bob Dylan in the pipeline doesn't really shock me," said Scott Marshall, author of a forthcoming book on the singer, "God and Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life". "At first glance it may sound bizarre, but I don't think Dylan cares much about what his detractors might make of it. Dylan still sings songs from "Slow Train Coming" to this day and he's both never renounced being Jewish or renounced his experience with Jesus some three decades ago. He remains enigmatic and this will probably be talked about for years to come."

We suppose that Dylan's spiritual pendulum has swung back to Christianity. Less than two years ago in 2007 Dylan went to Chabad Lubavitch for Yom Kippur, where he got an aliyah to the Torah. JTA Reported back then:

Bob Dylan's religious odyssey took a turn home on Yom Kippur.

The folk legend attended services at the Chabad-Lubavitch of Atlanta... Dylan was born Jewish but has dabbled in several faiths.

He arrived at morning services wearing a ski cap and a tallit, and stayed for the duration, the Web site said. Dylan was called to the Torah for an aliyah by his Hebrew name, Zushe ben Avraham, according to the Chabad outpost's rabbi, Yossi Lew.

Dylan was in Atlanta for a concert following the holiday.

As always be sure to see our friend Larry Yudelson's Tangled Up In Jews site for more background on the Jews and Jewishness connected with Bob Dylan.

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The Talmud is Not Like a TV Series

The Forward's comparison of the Talmud to the TV series Arrested Development is a flop.

Simply put - I don't know what Ezra Glinter is talking about in his column when he says that the Talmud's, "discussions wander into areas that are only tangentially related." It's important to know what that means because that is one basis for his comparison between the Talmud and the TV series. The Talmud that I know does not wander tangentially.

The other point Glinter makes is that the TV series and the Talmud have recurring interrelated tropes:

...putting those pieces together is not so different — in a way — from connecting the parts of “Arrested Development” on the basis of recurring jokes. James Joyce famously remarked of “Ulysses” that “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that’s the only way of insuring one’s immortality.” And in fact, both the Talmud and “Arrested Development” are similar in this respect to “Ulysses,” with its immense web of internal references and allusions.

I'm thinking why not throw in Superman comic books, Golf Digest Magazine and the Wall Street Journal? Lots of interrelated tropes in those works. 

Bottom line, if you don't pay any attention to the contents of the TV series, of James Joyce and of the Talmud, and if you have imbibed a large quantity of alcohol or some chemical substance, then the comparisons at the Forward make perfect sense. Otherwise, not really. The Talmud is not a stream of consciousness about Dublin Ireland on June 16, 1904. The Talmud is not a comedy about a fictitious Bluth family from Newport Beach, California. Content does matter when you make comparisons, even attempted comical comparisons.

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Rav Soloveitchik on Israeli TV

Ethan Isenberg writes to us that Rav Soloveitchik will be featured on an Israeli Broadcast Premiere Sat night. Lonely Man of Faith will be on Israeli TV in two parts, on successive Saturday nights: April 20 and 27, both at 10 PM. The 18th of Nisan marked the 20th yarhzeit anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.  This year, that date fell out on March 28 - 29.  Recordings are now available online of these memorial events: Yom Iyun at Beit Knesset "Ohel Ari" in Ra'anana, Israel, held on March 14 (3rd of Nisan) Yom Iyun at Yeshiva Chovevei Torah in New York, held on April 10 (30th of Nisan) Yom Iyun at Yeshiva University in New York, held on April 14 (4th of Iyar) Lonely Man of Faith is available on DVD. Click here to purchase the home version of the DVD. I recommend these books for you!

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Teaneck's Cedar Lane Cinemas to Re-open

Indeed good news. We have missed our local movie house.

Teaneck's Cedar Lane Cinemas will re-open this summer under a new owner according to NorthJersey.com.

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Is Lena Dunham Jewish?

Yes, Lena Dunham is a Jew. She is creator and star of the controversial hit HBO series Girls, which "we hear" is edgy and entertaining.

Wikipedia reports, "Dunham's father is Protestant, and according to Dunham, a Mayflower descendant; Dunham's mother is Jewish."

Dunham told the Jewish Journal: “I went to Hebrew school for, like, two weeks, and then didn’t get the part I wanted in the play and quit,” she said. “But I’ve always had a great love of all the holidays that we celebrate together as a family: Passover, Chanukah. I’ve spent a good amount of time in temple, and I definitely feel very culturally Jewish, although that’s the biggest cliché for a Jewish woman to say.”

Dunham dates Jack Antonoff, also Jewish and a former neighbor of ours in Bergen County. JStandard reported in a cover story that, "Solomon Schechter’s Jack Antonoff is a Grammy Award winner!" He won for song of the year and best new artist.

Dunham Instagrammed the cover of the Jewish Standard (3/11/2013) observing that, "Jewish boys are best." Thank you Lena.

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‘The Cheesy TV Bible’ Mini-Series on the History Channel

The Times calls it, "a rickety, often cheesy spectacle that is calculated to play well to a certain segment of the already enlisted choir but risks being ignored or scorned in other quarters."

Well are they referring to the mini-series or the Bible itself? Hard to tell.

‘The Cheesy TV Bible’ Mini-Series on the History Channel begins tonight.

The Bible

History, Sunday nights at 8, Eastern and Pacific times; 7, Central time.

Produced for History by Lightworkers Media and Hearst Entertainment & Syndication. Created by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey; Mr. Burnett, Ms. Downey and Richard Bedser, executive producers; Dirk Hoogstra and Julian P. Hobbs, executive producers for History; Keith David, narrator; Hans Zimmer, composer.

WITH: Roma Downey (Mother Mary), Diogo Morgado (Jesus Christ), Darwin Shaw (Peter), Sebastian Knapp (John), Amber Rose Revah (Mary Magdalene), Greg Hicks (Pilate) and Simon Kunz (Nicodemus).

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Is Movie Violence Kosher?

We had a short discussion with our son on Purim about whether the animated film "Wreck-It Ralph" had too much violence for the kids. Our son was worried that if the kids see violence on film that will cause them to act more violently towards each other. We argued that violence in film can be an outlet for the kids that may lessen their physical hitting of each other, as Kubrick put it, “a catharsis rather than a model."

In the book of Esther there is violence: the hanging of Haman and his sons and more, "...in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men (Esther 9:6)," not to mention the implied violence in the Biblical statement by God that we read in the synagogue the day before to wit, "...that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

Back to our question: Who is right? Is film violence kosher? Can our kids safely consume it?

The case can be made on both sides of this issue. In January 2013, the Atlantic ran a piece on the subject which collects the opinions of ten film directors, "'There's Violence in the Bible': Famous Directors on Violence in Film." The context of the article was set like this:

The Internet has been abuzz recently about Quentin Tarantino's explosive interview with a British journalist for Channel 4, in which the director snapped after being asked why he didn't think film violence and real violence were connected. "Don't ask me questions like that. I'm not biting. I refuse your question," he retorted. "I'm not your slave and you're not my master. You can't make me dance to your tune. I'm not your monkey." Though he goes somewhat off the handle, Tarantino is right about one thing—he has been asked about violence quite a bit. And so have many other directors that use it in their films. Below, I've collected a few of their answers, which range from quippy to sincere, to get a better view of how violent Hollywood views itself.

See the article here. The bible comparison in the essay's title appears in an interview with Stanley Kubrick that started out, "There has always been violence in art. There is violence in the Bible, violence in Homer, violence in Shakespeare, and many psychiatrists believe that it serves as a catharsis rather than a model."

We find Kubrick's opinions to be eloquent. The excerpt from him concludes:

The simplistic notion that films and TV can transform an otherwise innocent and good person into a criminal has strong overtones of the Salem witch trials. This notion is further encouraged by the criminals and their lawyers who hope for mitigation through this excuse. I am also surprised at the extremely illogical distinction that is so often drawn between harmful violence and the so-called harmless violence of, say, Tom and Jerry cartoons or James Bond movies, where often sadistic violence is presented as unadulterated fun. I hasten to say, I don’t think that they contribute to violence either. Films and TV are also convenient whipping boys for politicians because they allow them to look away from the social and economic causes of crime, about which they are either unwilling or unable to do anything.”

The full Kubrick interview (c. 1982) is here.

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Teaneck gets The Shalom TV Channel

Optimum in Teaneck has The Shalom TV Channel on 138 now as a full time channel in addition to the previous On Demand service. Via PR:

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) today announced the addition of the new Shalom TV Channel to Optimum’s comprehensive line-up. Shalom TV, available on channel 138, is America's Jewish television network with a strong array of shows covering the panorama of Jewish life and of interest to everyone.

Shalom TV programming addresses everyone with a sense of Jewish identity and those seeking their roots. Televised offerings resonate with anyone who has a passion for learning and a desire to gain a greater understanding of Jewish tradition, Jewish life and the land of Israel. Viewers can tune-in to daily news from the Israel Broadcasting Authority, timely interviews with the leading personalities in the Jewish world, live call-in programs, Friday evening Sabbath services and Jewish children's programming every morning and afternoon....

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Is science fiction Jewish?

It's a fair question. Is science fiction Jewish?

Some bloggers say yes, science fiction, is Jewish!

The Exploring Our Matrix blog brings up the question in this way, "Is the Oldest Science Fiction in the Talmud?"

The basis for the question is this text from the Talmud (b. Menahot 29b) which presents Moses as a time traveler.

Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters.

Said Moses, ‘Lord of the Universe, Who stays Thy hand?’

He answered, ‘There will arise a man, at the end of many generations, Akiba b. Joseph by name, who will expound upon each tittle heaps and heaps of laws’. ‘Lord of the Universe’, said Moses; ‘permit me to see him’. He replied, ‘Turn thee round’.

Moses went and sat down behind eight rows [and listened to the discourses upon the law]. Not being able to follow their arguments he was ill at ease, but when they came to a certain subject and the disciples said to the master ‘Whence do you know it?’ and the latter replied ‘It is a law given unto Moses at Sinai’ he was comforted.

Thereupon he returned to the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, ‘Lord of the Universe, Thou hast such a man and Thou givest the Torah by me!’ He replied, ‘Be silent, for such is My decree’.

Then said Moses, ‘Lord of the Universe, Thou hast shown me his Torah, show me his reward’. ‘Turn thee round’, said He; and Moses turned round and saw them weighing out his flesh at the market-stalls. ‘Lord of the Universe’, cried Moses, ‘such Torah, and such a reward!’ He replied, ‘Be silent, for such is My decree’.

Well beam me up Scottie. I for one am convinced totally that the Talmud has the earliest science fiction!

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Is Katie Homes Jewish?

No actress Katie Holmes is not a Jew. She was a Catholic, then a Scientologist and now, again, a Catholic, as the Examiner reports: Katie Holmes ditches Scientology, Tom Cruse; rejoins Catholic Church.

Wikipedia reports that she is quite Catholic, "Holmes was baptized a Roman Catholic and attended Christ the King Church in Toledo. She graduated from the all-female Notre Dame Academy (also her mother's alma mater), where Katie was a 4.0 student. At St. John's Jesuit, a nearby all-male high school, Holmes appeared in school musicals, playing a waitress in Hello, Dolly! and Lola in Damn Yankees."

She inches just a tad towards Jewish with these accomplishments, "She scored 1310 out of 1600 on her SAT and was accepted to Columbia University (and attended for a summer session); her father wanted her to be a doctor."

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DVD of the Talmudic Film "Footnote" by Joseph Cedar

Joseph Cedar's film Footnote explores the main definitions and contradictions of "Talmudic" living: the tensions between rivals, the relationships of humans to texts, the unquenchable thirst for the recognition of one's peers, and especially the unresolvable struggle of humor v. humorlessness.

The DVD is scheduled for release July 24, 2012.

The Times had a superb review for the film when it opened in New York. They have a nice short video interview at their site too.

Ego and Envy, So It Is Written
By KRISTIN HOHENADEL

THE world is full of unsung academics who toil all their lives in an obsessive quest for knowledge — and a reputation-making breakthrough in their chosen field — only to end up a footnote in someone else’s brilliant career.

Israel’s contender for this year’s foreign-language Academy Award was Joseph Cedar’s “Footnote,” a tragicomic tale of rival father-and-son Jewish scholars in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A universal story with an esoteric setting, the film was a box-office hit in Israel, winning that country’s version of an Oscar for best picture, and best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie, which was an Oscar finalist, opens in New York on Friday.

“Israeli films have always struggled to find their connection to the larger Israel,” said the soft-spoken, serious-minded Mr. Cedar, the film’s writer and director, during a New York visit. “I come from a yeshiva background, so I studied the Talmud from a religious angle most of my life. No other culture has created a document so vast and so detailed that continues to be relevant. The text is the source of our culture. This film touches something that has to do with our identity.”

Born in Manhattan, Mr. Cedar moved to Israel with his family in 1973, when he was 5, but held onto his pitch-perfect English. He studied philosophy and the history of theater at Hebrew University, and filmmaking at New York University. “Footnote” is his fourth film. His previous movie, “Beaufort,” about Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, was also an Oscar finalist.

“I’m used to speaking to journalists as an Israeli, and it always has a political side to it,” Mr. Cedar said. “This film got me off the hook a little bit in the sense that I’m not finding myself too much in the service of the Israeli foreign ministry.”

The idea for “Footnote” struck when Mr. Cedar received a call announcing that he had won an award that he mistakenly believed was meant for his father, Howard Cedar, a biochemist who teaches at Hebrew University and is a winner of the Israel Prize, his country’s highest honor. In the film a misunderstanding over which member of the family has been awarded the Israel Prize pits father against son, and ultimately each man against himself.

“Awards motivate, and they raise the bar,” Mr. Cedar said. “I can say with 100 percent certainty that without the Oscars American cinema wouldn’t be as good. But any kind of national prize causes its recipients to compromise something in their integrity. There’s no question that there’s a tax you pay when you’re willing to be embraced by the establishment. There’s an inherent contradiction. You’re proud of your achievement; you’re ashamed that you needed it. And I think it’s true for anyone standing on that podium. This has become a pretty big issue in my life. I’m investigating it.”

Mr. Cedar said he didn’t know much about the inner workings of his alma mater’s Talmud department, renowned for its uncompromising standards and eccentric characters, before he began looking for an academic field in which to set the story. But he became fascinated by the academics who devote their lives to studying the intricacies of the Talmud, a foundation of Jewish law and culture.

“A lot of these scholars start out with a lot of ambition, and over the years that ambition is chipped and chipped,” Mr. Cedar said. “Some of them have never published anything because they’re so terrified of making a mistake. It turns some of them into people who are very, very hard to live with, harsher than you see in the film. There are real people that live in this tension that is unbearable, and it has to do with their area of study, but it’s also a competitiveness that never gives them any satisfaction or fulfillment.”

Eliezer Shkolnik (played by Shlomo Bar Aba) is a taciturn and long-frustrated philologist who analyzes Talmudic manuscripts in exacting detail, laser focused on the paralyzing task of recreating an authentic master version of that ancient collection of recorded oral texts before attempting to decipher what it all means.

A rising star with a gift for schmooze, his son, Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi), writes bold, popular theoretical books, eclipsing Eliezer in honors and accolades, becoming a nemesis who represents a new world order that Eliezer reviles and loathes.

“The tradition of fierce argument over words, the tension of generations, the tension between what is oral and what is written, these are all very basic things that drive the Talmud,” Mr. Cedar said. “That’s what this film is about.”

Mr. Bar Aba, a household name in Israel who nonetheless hadn’t been in a film in 24 years, said by phone from Israel that he was hardly an obvious choice for the role of Eliezer, having skipped his Talmud classes in high school. Best known for his antic performance style — one of his signature characters is a wild horse — he said he is often described as an Israeli Robin Williams.

“When I invited my psychologist to see me onstage, she said I acted like a Jew with Germans aiming a gun at my head, telling me the second I stopped being funny, they would shoot,” Mr. Bar Aba said through a translator. “I was very surprised Joseph would approach me for such a quiet and introverted role.”

Mr. Cedar said he told Mr. Bar Aba that “this character is full of a murderous rage that can never come out,” adding, “It was his job as an actor to hold in that rage for the entire film.”

Meanwhile Mr. Ashkenazi didn’t seem to break a sweat. “Lior is a real leading man, he’s Cary Grant,” Mr. Cedar said. “Things come easily to him, so he doesn’t really have to prepare.”

Mr. Bar Aba said of his co-star: “He drove me crazy! One take and he went for a drink!”

Nevertheless Mr. Ashkenazi did have some guidance in preparing for his role from Moshe Halbertal, a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at Hebrew University who also teaches at the New York University law school, and whose career trajectory bears a passing resemblance to Uriel’s (though he denies any resemblance to the character).

Did he ever imagine that anyone would want to make a movie about the Talmud department?

“No, no, I did not,” Mr. Halbertal said by phone from Jerusalem with a chuckle. “You need someone who can understand the larger potential of such particular drama. And the ongoing touch of irony in the movie gave it a genuine sense of proportion. I think part of the power of the movie is that it can speak simultaneously to insiders and observers.”

Mr. Halbertal said that he sensed among his peers, many of whom watched the film in a special screening for Hebrew University faculty, “a feeling that the film represented something deep about that world, that it brought to life serious issues and struggles, that having a life’s quest doesn’t isolate you from human vulnerabilities.”

After the screening a philologist from the Talmud department presented Mr. Cedar with a challenge: “He said, ‘I noticed I’m No. 4 in the credits, and it’s not alphabetical, so it must be by importance, and I just want to know, why is this guy more important than I am?’ ” Mr. Cedar recalled. “So I said, ‘You know there’s a third option: It can just be random.’ And his answer was, ‘Nothing is random.’ That’s how these people feel. It somehow made its way to the screen. It means something. It’s not random, and it’s our job to figure out why.”

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Is Quentin Tarantino Jewish?

Quentin Tarantino's film, Inglorious Basterds, is a fantasy story - a comic book brought to the screen - about a a group of Jewish guerrilla U.S. soldiers in occupied France during World War II who seek revenge on the Nazis.

Reviews were generally positive -- one thoughtful discussion worth peeking at by Andrew O’Hehir at Salon, "Is Tarantino good for the Jews?"

Pundits were asking whether the subtitle of the movie should be, G. I. Jews, or Dirty Minyan?

And so, with such a theme, it is natural for us to ask, Is Quentin Tarantino Jewish?

No, he is not a Jew. Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Connie Zastoupil (née McHugh) of Irish and Cherokee Native American ancestry, and Tony Tarantino, part Italian from Queens, New York.

His new movie this year will be Django Unchained and here is the trailer:

Get More: Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

Note well also, Tarantino is also not a Bible scholar. In one of our favorite scenes, his character in Pulp Fiction played by Samuel L. Jackson recites this biblical sounding verse that actually is a fake,

The path of the righteous man and defender is beset on all sides by the iniquity of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper, and the finder of lost children. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious anger, those who poison and destroy my brothers; and they shall know that I am the Lord when I shall lay my vengeance upon thee.

Research has shown that Tarantino actually borrowed the pseudo-verse from a 1970s Japanese action film called Karate Kiba.
//repost//

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Our Favorite Movie "The Endless Summer" and Our Quest for the Perfect Wave of Prayer

Our favorite movie is Bruce Brown's, The Endless Summer. 

Yes you heard right. In 1966 we were young and we saw a film that documented two boys seeking simple perfection in a quasi-mystical sport. IMDB sums up, "Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters."

The film spoke to us, as it did to many others of a more idealistic age. The essence of surfing of course is the wave. And the lover of surfing no doubt wants to embark on the quest for the best wave. To experience the performance of the essence is to find the perfect wave.

Brown's two surfer dudes found one in South Africa, see the video clip below.
We did not go out to emulate Brown's surfers and travel the world in search of the perfect surfing wave. Oh yes -- we did have a surf board and we did have a tan and we were agile and athletic and learned to surf. Truly, we hardly got beyond the less than perfect waves of the south shore of Long Island. And that was fun, and a way to pass the summer times, but not a quest of any sort.

Fast forward ten years and behold we did embark on a quest in search of a perfect wave of a different sort. We spent months and years of travel and research and sabbaticals seeking the perfect wave in a shul, the swaying and the praying that hit the mark, that stayed in the groove, that fulfilled the quest of the endless davener.

We found that perfect wave of prayer one time for a brief season in a little shul right off Palmach Street in Jerusalem in 1978. It's a place called Har-El and it is still there today. Back then it was the right mix of the perfect minyan. "Colorful local characters" of different histories and stories but all with the same propensities, skills and needs. A brief snapshot of time when clerks and professors, accountants and bankers, business owners, contractors, rabbis and craftsmen joined as one every day to read and sing the prayers. It was simple one room shul-house structure with a one wire heater and nothing fancy anywhere to be found.

That special season of satisfaction for the Endless Davener proved that yes, then perfect prayer exists, it was serene and smooth and seamless.
This clip shows a per­fect wave from "End­less Sum­mer," shot at Cape St Fran­cis, South Africa.

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Manic, Panic, Titanic

We don't usually make random psychological posts. But in thinking just now about what is called bipolar disorder, we were bothered by how the mood condition is commonly described, to wit, "Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or more depressive episodes (Wikipedia: Bipolar disorder)."

Our reservations with a common label for the disorder are twofold.

First of all "manic depressive" does not rhyme.

Second of all the common labels do not adequately describe what we have seen of the disorder over many years of observations of the experiences of people we are close to who suffer from it.

The main component that is missing if either of the labels "manic-depressive" or "bipolar" is used, in our completely non-professional opinion, is the intermediate time between the manic phase and the depressive episode. That is not necessarily a "normal" mood time, but more commonly (in what we have witnessed) an interval of "panic" interlaced with anxiety, between the elevated and the low moods.

And since "manic, panic, depressive" does not rhyme, we propose a new label for the conglomorate disorder: "Manic, Panic, Titanic". We think that it is important to be accurate in naming.

Talmudic Books for Kindle on the Talmud, Bible, Kabbalah and Prayer
 The Kindle Edition of the Classic Soncino Talmud in English

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Times: Marvin Hier is the only Rabbi in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

In a charming story, the Times asserts that Marvin Hier is the only rabbi in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "...Rabbi Hier...has been an active member for three decades. Teni Melidonian, a spokeswoman for the Academy, said he doesn’t know of any other rabbis among approximately 5,800 voting members..."

Yasher Koach, good job, Rabbi Hier.

"God's Favorite Prayers"- worthy of an Oscar

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Haaretz : Cedar's 'Footnote' nominated for Oscar

We saw it  at the NYFF and we predict this film will win the Oscar in its category.

Joseph Cedar's 'Footnote' nominated for Oscar
Film to compete against entries from Iran, Poland, Belgium and Canada in the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, to be held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 26.

Joseph Cedar's film, "Footnote," was nominated yesterday for the Academy Award's best foreign language film for 2011. Four Israeli films, including Cedar's "Beaufort" in 2007, have made the short list for the prestigious prize in the last five years.

The Israeli drama, starring Shlomo Bar Aba and Lior Ashkenazi, tells the story of a power struggle between a father and son who both teach at the Talmud department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"I feel like a really lucky guy," Cedar said yesterday at a press conference at Cinema City in Ramat Hasharon. "The film gained fans exceeding all expectations, and that's a very gratifying feeling." Asked whether he feels he'll win the prize this time, Cedar said that that question touches on one of the themes of his movie."It's an issue the film deals with: What happens to a normal life when a prize is involved, the way it dominates one's judgment and changes proportions of things. Similarly to what happens in the film, I have a twofold feeling - pride and excitement on the one hand and, on the other, a fear that this might be some sort of a mix up."

Cedar concedes that the nomination brought great relief. "One might think that we'd be immune to such pressures, since the film deals with prizes, their significance and lack of significance. But from the moment Sony [the film's distributor in the U.S.] got involved, it was almost impossible to handle the expectation. Now that we're nominated, it's much easier," Cedar said.

The film's leading actor, Shlomo Bar Aba, said yesterday that when he met Cedar for the first time, at a cafe, he was surprised to meet a man with a screenplay that was "odd, not ingratiating, high quality that doesn't quite fit in with the times." Bar Aba, who chose not to play in films in the past 20 years, said that "it seemed like an intimate biography that would target an audience of about 10 people. I swear I don't know why, by I just couldn't refuse this man's energy, and we embarked on a trip to the unkown."

"Footnote" won nine Ophir awards (the Israeli "Oscar" ) four months ago, and took home the best screenplay award at the 2011 Cannes festival.

Cedar's film will compete against entries from Iran, Poland, Belgium and Canada in the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 26.

At the press conference, David Mandil who produced the film with Moshe and Leon Edery - and with the support of the Israel Film Fund - insisted that in order for the Israeli film industry to flourish, larger budgets must be allocated. "I call on all those responsible to do their best to enlarge the budgets of Israeli films, so we can repeat these achievements in the future," said Mandil.

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