Menashe - A family drama that needed to be shorter

There is no such thing as a bad idea for a movie, only bad executions of ideas for a movie. It is entirely possible to make an interesting, entertaining and note worthy film that consists entirely of two people at a table talking about their lives. All that is required of that idea is that it be executed well enough to be so. This includes knowing how to stage the scene, how to shoot it, what style to apply, who to cast as the main characters, and especially, how long the story should really take. Runtime is a bigger factor in movies than people give credit for. "The Hobbit" movies for example, really did NOT need to be extended into three separate movies running at nearly three hours each. By the same token, "The Dark Tower" could have been saved if it was given a full two and a half hours to flesh out the characters, establish the world, and provide a reason to care. When a movie is too long or too short, but otherwise relatively well executed, it leaves you with an experience that you just wish was better. "Menashe" is just that.

This movie is the story of an Orthodox Jewish man in Brooklyn named Meneshe, (played by Meneshe Lustig). In case you're wondering, yes, that is the actors name. Anyway, after his wife passes away from illness, making him a widower, under the strict Jewish law, he is no longer able to care for his young son, Fischel, (played byYoel Falkowitz). Therefore, Meneshe must surrender his son to a married relative and cannot return custody until he gets married again. Which is not helped by the fact that he has a lousy job, financial issues, and seems to be having a crisis of faith. Add to that his inability to be independent. So, the head honcho of the Temple grants Meneshe a special favor and will let his son stay with him for one week. Any longer and the school will kick his son out for not living in a married household. 

The film is made well enough that it is serviceable. The acting is good, the direction is good, and the music is pretty good. The scenes that display specific Orthodox Jewish rituals are fascinating to watch. There's one ritual in particular involving a bonfire in the middle of a closed off street where they are all singing and dancing, which I found to be the most interesting and wanted to learn more about. However, the film also has just enough flaws that make it not very easy to recommend. 

For starters, as I stated before, this film is just too long. It's a simple story about a father and his son, which is always a good story to tell. The problem is that this particular father & son story is TOO simple. Outside of the aforementioned and easily forgotten ticking clock element, there's nothing really going on in the story. What stuff is going on is often repeated to the point of boredom. Almost every other scene in this movie can be described like this: 

Menashe takes on a responsibility, doesn't go through with it, argues with his son about his deceased wife, then silently laments his own his own situation. 

This is a perfectly acceptable storyline for a short film but not for a feature length film. Because of the repudiative nature of the story, it becomes less and less interesting as it progresses. Thankfully the acting is strong enough to maintain the pace, and there is some variety sprinkled around here and there. 

It's worth noting that this film was shot almost entirely in Yeddish. Which does make the film a little bit more interesting as it is a fascinating language with a neat sound to it. So, just so you know, be prepared for subtitles. 

While I would not go so far as to say that this is a bad film, I would say that I recommend it with caution. It's a nice character piece with strong acting all throughout and interesting displays of Jewish ritual. It's just too long for it's own good and doesn't have enough variety to maintain interest. Bottom line, I recommend waiting for video. 

Ladies & Gentleman, I am TheNorm, telling you when Hollywood gets things wrong, and when they get things right. Thank you for reading.