The 38th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is going strong; it entered its second week today, and we’ve got five more spotlights for you (you can find our first round of coverage here). Below we profile four more feature films and one documentary. Complete programming and ticket information can be found here; now get out there and see some films before the Festival ends on August 5th!
1.) To Dust
(United States 2018, 90 min.)
Son of Saul’s Géza Röhrig adds a bit of levity to his résumé in this crowd pleaser (it won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival this year) that pairs Rohrig’s earnest Hasidic cantor Shmuel with Matthew Broderick’s irritated gentile biology professor Albert in a buddy comedy unlike any other. The initially reluctant Albert softens when he learns Shmuel’s desire to learn what physically happens to a dead body stems from his deep concern over his recently deceased wife’s body and soul. While the film has its share of culture clash, laugh-out-loud moments (Albert wearing his ex-wife’s robe while trying to corral a kidnapped pig in his house is an image you won’t soon forget), first time feature director Shawn Snyder never mocks his protagonists. Instead, we are treated to a sometimes amusing, but always respectful, picture about grief, solace, and the importance of kindness when we need it most.
Screenings (tickets available here):
– Wednesday, July 25, 8:30pm, Castro Theatre, SF
– Monday, July 30, 8:30pm, Albany Twin, Albany
– Saturday, August 4, 6:35pm, Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael
2.) The Last Suit
(Spain 2017, 92 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Boasting an award-worthy lead performance from acclaimed Argentinian actor Miguel Ángel Solá, this festival favorite (it has already won honors at the Miami and Seattle Film Fests) from Argentinian writer/director Pablo Solarz is the kind of tragicomedy that will leave an indelible mark on your soul. When cantankerous and ailing 88-year-old tailor Abraham (Solá) sets out from Buenos Aires to Poland on a quest to find an old friend who helped him during the War, he is met with warmth and generosity from strangers, despite almost always inadvertently alienating them. A scene in which a lovely young woman helps Abraham maneuver a train trip so he won’t have to set foot in Germany is so beautiful that your heart will palpably ache. Filled with notes of sadness, regret, and, ultimately, grace, Solarz’s movie reminds us that we can never truly know another’s pain, and so we should be our best selves to each other, always.
Screenings (tickets available here):
– Thursday, July 26, 6:10pm, CineArts Theatre, Palo Alto
– Sunday, July 29, 2:45pm, Castro Theatre, SF
– Tuesday, July 31, 6:20pm, Albany Twin, Albany
3.) Simon and Théodore
(France 2017, 84 min. In French with English subtitles)
Two troubled souls meet by chance in French director Mikael Buch’s affecting picture about connection and compassion. Simon (Félix Moati), newly released from a stint in psychiatric hospital, is on the outs with his pregnant rabbi wife Rivka (Mélanie Bernier). Young Théodore (Nils Othenin-Girard), studying with Rivka for his bar mitzvah, has anger issues of his own, mostly directed at his absentee father. When Simon tries to get back in Rivka’s good graces by helping retrieve a runaway Théodore, the boy and the man find they have more in common than they think. An arresting movie about strangers’ lives intertwining, Buch’s film underscores our need for decency and empathy.
Screenings (tickets available here):
– Thursday, July 26, 8:20pm, CineArts Theatre, Palo Alto
– Friday, July 27, 8:45pm, Albany Twin, Albany
– Sunday, July 29, 12:45pm, Castro Theatre, SF
– Friday, August 3, 4:00pm, Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael
4.) Wajib
(Palestine 2017, 97 min. In Arabic with English subtitles)
We get to experience the Palestinian custom of Wajib in writer/director Annemarie Jacir’s father/son drama, which brings us into the heart of Nazareth, known as “the Arab capital of Israel.” Jacir does double duty here, painting both a fascinating portrait of a complex city, and delivering a smart and thoughtful father/son drama that feels universal. Per Palestinian custom, Abu Shadi (Mohammed Bakri) and his son Shadi (Saleh Bakri) spend an afternoon hand delivering invitations to Shadi’s sister’s upcoming wedding. Each long delivery requires sitting and visiting with friends, and, as the day wears on, Shadi and his father fall into old arguments about Shadi’s decision to leave Nazareth, his choice of girlfriend, and resentments about some of the wedding guests. A prescient and provocative look at the generational divide regarding historic and current issues in a complicated city, Wajib allows us an insider look at the daily life in a region we typically only hear about in politically fraught contexts.
Screenings (tickets available here):
– Tuesday, July 24, 8:55pm, Castro Theatre, SF
– Friday, August 3, 8:20pm, Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael
– Saturday, August 4, 6:30pm, Piedmont Theatre, Oakland
5.) The Devil We Know
(United States 2018, 88 min.)
You probably have some Teflon pans in your kitchen cupboard right now; you may have even used one to cook your eggs this morning. After seeing Stephanie Soechtig and Jeremy Seifert’s new documentary, however, you may not be so quick to whip out that pan for your next breakfast meal. Teflon is made using a chemical surfactant called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, also known as C8. It is so prevalent in the environment that every baby born in the world today has some level of C8 already in its blood. Soechtig and Seifert tell us that sobering fact and many more in their documentary about Teflon manufacturer DuPont and its plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, where a class action suit has been filed because of high PFOA levels in the town’s water. Many town residents and former and current plant workers are claiming that these levels have caused significant health and birth defects. Interviews with Parkersburg citizens affected by the chemical (including a mother who was pregnant when she worked at the plant and her adult son, who faced a series of health challenges growing up), toxicologists, lawyers fighting the good fight, and, of course, DuPont PR execs maintaining their innocence (reminiscent of Big Tobacco’s denials) provide powerful context for a chilling story of American business gone awry. By turns inspiring and infuriating, Soechtig and Seifert’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-nominated film should be given worldwide distribution.
Screenings (tickets available here):
– Friday, July 27, 11:00am, Castro Theatre, SF
– Thursday, August 2, 2:00pm, Albany Twin, Albany
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