San Francisco Jewish Film Festival 2013

[Chris Knipp]

Dan Shadur: Before the Revolution (2013)

A family album, with supporting testimony of former officials, about the halcyon colonial days for Israelis when their country was, like the US, chummy with the Shah, and a large Israeli community lived in Tehran in luxury, blind to the atrocities of Savak, the disappeared ones, and the prevailing poverty and discontent. They fled reluctantly, and almost too late, when the revolution came in 1979. The filmmaker was only a baby when his family escaped.

[Chris Knipp]

David Ondricek: In the Shadow (2012)

A Czech noir police procedural is the pretext for a depiction of Fifties communist show trials, in this case demonizing immigrant Jews as plotters of "Zionist terrorism." This is so drenched in dark atmosphere you can barely see what's going on, and this sort of thing has been done better before, not that the acting and cinematography are not impeccable in their way. The Czech Republic's 2012 Best Foreign Oscar entry.

[Chris Knipp]

Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa: Jerry and Me (2012)

An Iranian film professor in Chicago tells the story of her life through the prism of Jerry Lewis, whose films were popular in the Tehran of her youth. She co-authored a book on Kiarastomi with Jonathan Rosenbaum, and her short films have been seen at numerous festivals.

[Chris Knipp]

Karen Thorsen, Tracie Holder: Joe Papp in Five Acts (2010)

"A Gatsby-like American" -- David Hare.

An admiring portrait of the immensely important populist New York theatrical impresario from Brooklyn, who hid his immigrant roots until well into his career. He was notable for the free annual Shakespeare in the Park and the Public Theater in Lower Manhattan, and is still a living influence even though he died at 70 in 1991. All I can say about this guy is "Wow!"

[Chris Knipp]

Jan Troell: The Last Sentence (2012)

About a crusading anti-Nazi Swedish editor who was also a cold-hearted adulterer. As Swedish-American film blogger Erik Lundgaard succinctly puts it, the theme adds up to "being on the right side of history doesn't mean you're not an asshole." Unfortunately this doesn't seem an enlightening truth and Troell lets the domestic ugliness gather more emotional resonance than his political story which is the only reason why this real-life person was worthy of a biopic. Good acting and visuals, but structure problems.

[Chris Knipp]

Jonathan Holiff: My Father and the Man in Black (2012)

Saul Holiff, Jonathan's dad, was Johnny Cash's manager from 1960 to 1973 -- key years of his career. This documentary retraces Cash's bumpy life at that time, the two men's relationship, and the son's distant relationship with his father. Unearthing a cache of many years of diary on tape enables Jonathan to find out much he did not know about his dad.

Aug. 12, 2013. My last entry and the last day of this year's SFJFF.

[Chris Knipp]

Theatrical release.

Hilla Medalia: Dancing in Jaffa

This little documentary about the famous dance teacher Pierre Dulaine, whose use of dance to charm and pacify disadvantaged groups inspired the films TAKE THE LEAD and MAD HOT BALLROOM this time getting Arab and Jewish kids to dance together in a contest in Israel-Palestine, will be released by Sundance Friday, 11 April 2014, according to Metacritic and Indiewire. This film doesn't go deep enough, but it has many cute and sweet moments.