Menashe (2017)

I can safely say that this is the first movie I've ever seen where the main language is Yiddish, possibly with a little English mixed in, unless there are more clear cognates than I thought. It's also rare for having English subtitles nearly all the time but being made and set in the U.S., so I wouldn't feel right adding a "foreign" tag.

The title character (real name Menashe Lustig) is an underachieving middle-aged kosher grocery clerk in Brooklyn. His wife died a year ago, and his Hasidic rabbi (Meyer Schwartz) has ruled that preteen son Rieven (Rubin Niborski) must live with Menashe's brother Eizik (Yoel Weisshaus) until Menashe remarries. Menashe likes hanging with Rieven as much as possible but drags his heels about exploring the possibility of remarriage, not because it feels too soon but because his arranged first marriage went poorly.

I considered adding a "poverty" tag, but for all Menashe's difficulty making ends meet, he has almost the same standard of living as me. It makes little difference to the story, since Eizik sees much more compelling reasons to withhold custody of Rieven. Menashe is habitually tardy and prone to errors, which he makes out to be bad luck, but his excuses pile up too much to fly with anyone. He's also quite casual by Orthodox Jewish standards. Even Rieven, while mostly loving, has only so much respect for him. I think he's no worse a dad than Carl in Chef, so CPS probably wouldn't come after him, but his community has stricter standards.

This is one of those odd cases where the Rotten Tomatoes score is super high but the IMDb score is middling. I think I know why. On one hand, there's arguably even less plot progression than in my previous viewing, with nowhere near the star power. At no point from beginning to end do we see Menashe victorious. It's hard to discern a message beyond "Letting rabbis rule your life sucks."

OTOH, it does present an interesting blend of the exotic and the familiar, like another world right in our homeland. I wouldn't do all the things Menashe does, but I can sympathize with him. As far as I can tell, the film is realistic, which gives it value not just for education but for artistry. It fits the pseudo-genre of minor dramas about ordinary people in ordinary situations, which sells better to serious critics than to mainstream crowds.

Funny how the characters' lives look pretty boring, yet I was never bored watching them. A mere 81-minute run time helps. It's also worth noting the PG rating, with no sexual content, basically no violence, and probably no swearing. This does nothing to deflate the drama. Men in conflict can still be pretty pious.

If you have a remotely Jewish background or are remotely curious about Hasidim, check out Menashe when you have a little time to spare. Just don't expect anything epic.