Film
The Latest
-
Culture Orthodox World Provides Backdrop for Rama Burshtein’s Universal Story
The night before Rama Burshtein shot the last scene of “Fill the Void,” she couldn’t sleep. It was going to be her last day on set, and a large group of extras was scheduled to arrive, including her own children. More daunting, she was going to be shooting a wedding scene, one of the film’s…
-
The Schmooze What Mel Brooks can teach us about racism
“Blazing Saddles” is generally regarded as Mel Brooks’s best movie: It was ranked sixth on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest American comedies and it was nominated for three Academy Awards. “Best,” though, is a relative term. Brooks’s Borscht Belt-meets-absurdism style is so unique and so indelible that what we call the…
-
The Schmooze Palestinian Film Breaks New Ground at Cannes
A tragic love story between two Palestinians living under Israeli occupation received a standing ovation at the Cannes film festival on Monday and broke new ground as the first film fully funded by the Palestinian cinema industry. “Omar” by director Hany Abu-Assad, known for the 2005 award-winning film “Paradise Now,” is a political thriller interwoven…
-
The Schmooze Renee Zellweger’s Favorite Laundry Lady
Not everyone has Zack Galifianakis renting an apartment for them, or Renee Zellweger paying to furnish it. But then again, not everyone is Mimi. Mimi is an 88-year-old woman who, until very recently, lived in a laundromat on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, Calif. She is the subject of a film being made by Israeli…
-
The Schmooze First Peek at Ari Folman’s New Film
The first trailer is out for Ari Folman’s new film, “The Congress” (see here for background), and though I hate to say it, it’s a little disappointing. I’ve been looking forward to this movie for ages, mainly because it seems like the perfect creative pairing. Folman, in his 2008 film “Waltz With Bashir,” used groundbreaking…
-
The Schmooze A Different Kind of Cancer Story
Danish director Susanne Bier is on a roll. Her 2006 film, “After the Wedding,” was nominated for an Academy Award the next year, and her 2010 movie “In a Better World,” won the best foreign film Oscar and a Golden Globe in 2011. Her latest film, “Love Is All You Need,” stars Pierce Brosnan as…
-
Culture The History of Mel Brooks, Part I
Ironically, it was Mel Brooks who asked the first question: “So, how long have you been working for the Jewish Daily Forward?” Then he wondered aloud how I spell my name, and he graded my response. “You got all the letters right,” he said, and laughed when I ask for extra credit for getting them…
-
Film & TV When the Jewish Mother and Son Get Their Day on the Silver Screen
A Jewish mother gives her son two ties on the first night of Hanukkah. The following morning, when he comes down for breakfast, he is wearing one of them. The mom says, “What’s the matter — you didn’t like the other one?” — Sheldon Kimmelman in “Old Jews Telling Jokes” Even while guffawing at old…
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Hitler is trending on TikTok again — and they’re trying to make him seem like a nice guy
- 2
Culture You can buy Sukkot gift boxes that say ‘tuchus’ on Amazon
- 3
Fast Forward Sitcom star encourages non-Jews like her to hang mezuzahs on their homes
- 4
Opinion A maelstrom around Rashida Tlaib shows how broken discourse about the war has become
In Case You Missed It
-
Oct. 7: One Year Later — Teen Voices Nearing a Prayer: How my violin has helped me learn to pray
-
Oct. 7: One Year Later — Teen Voices Jews and Muslims need to embrace commonalities over differences
-
Oct. 7: One Year Later — Teen Voices How teens of all backgrounds can connect in a deeply polarized, post-Oct. 7 world
-
Oct. 7: One Year Later — Teen Voices In a supposedly progressive city, words are violence but an actual massacre is justified
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism