Fighting for his people; claustrophobia at the shiva
Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin
Dir: Jonathan Gruber ★★★★✩
The story of controversial Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin is told with honesty and commendable precision in the latest documentary from American director Jonathan Gruber (Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story).
Imprisoned by the Soviets and later orphaned by the Holocaust, Menachem Begin carried in his heart a determination that no Jew should ever endure the persecution he and millions of others had encountered in Europe.
For most of his life, we are told, Begin had a strong belief that the Jews were alone and needed to take action alone to defend themselves from their enemies.
Upheaval presents Begin as a man of great contradictions. While his Likud party was seen by those who opposed it as a counter-revolutionary entity, the man himself was a great believer in advocating for minorities. Welcoming newly arrived North African Jews and even giving a home to Vietnamese boat people who had been rejected by most western countries, the highly determined Zionist leader saw Israel as a land of possibilities for everyone no matter their colour or creed.
But it was his almost messianic view on settlements that made him into a figure of hate in the Arab world.
Begin saw himself as a son of the Jewish people and a bridge between Jewishness and Israeli-ness. We are told that he saw the occupied territories as “lands that lay at the heart of Jewish existence” and that it is this belief which has been partly responsible for the lengthy war between Jews and Arabs in the region.
Overall, Gruber presents a film which is both honest and detailed in its handling of a man whose problematic legacy still lives on.
It is a film as dense as it is informative and is sure to provide some background to the current situation in the Middle East, which might be especially useful for those unfamiliar with its chequered history — and even for those who think they are experts.
Shiva Baby ★★★★✩ Cert: 15
In this impressive debut feature, young Jewish Canadian writer-director Emma Seligman presents a fresh, funny and robustly-acted queer comedy.
Adapted from Seligman’s 2018 short film of the same name, Shiva Baby has the familiarity of some of Woody Allen’s most popular offerings with its focus on neurosis, complex relationship and claustrophobic Jewish familial settings.
When she is dragged by her parents (Fred Melamed and Polly Draper) to attend a shiva, college senior Danielle is shocked when she realises that her ex girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon) and current sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari) are both in attendance.
Things spiral out of control when Max’s non-Jewish wife (Glee’s Diana Agron) turns up with the couple’s baby in tow — a faux pas which doesn’t go unnoticed.
Caught between trying to avoid both lovers and justifying the lies she told each of them, Danielle feels suffocated by everyone around her and confused by her feelings towards Maya and Max.
Seligman’s film feels like 77 minutes spent in a pressure cooker that could blow any moment. She presents a brilliantly devised story which is often elevated by Ariel Max’s hectic score.
There are hints of early Allen of course, but the film to me has more in common with the (also Jewish) Safdi brothers’ (Good Time, Uncut Gems) particular blend of tense and chaotic narratives.
Seligman has given us an impressively grownup and commendably well-acted comedy full of brilliant twists and turns and populated with some hilariously erratic and neurosis-driven characters.
And if you needed one more reason to give this a go, the film also features another tour de force from the always brilliant Fred Melamed (A Serious Man, Hail, Caesar!) who is never known for doing things by halves.
All in all, Shiva Baby is a truly promising debut from a very talented young filmmaker. Emma Seligman is a name to watch.