The 31st annual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival kicks off its second week on Sunday, with another batch of eclectic films about the Jewish experience. The second week’s lineup features a number of international films (from France, Israel, and Canada) as well as a notable indie film from last fall with a big-time Hollywood connection. All showings are at the B&B Theatre West Olive 10 at 12657 Olive Blvd. in Creve Coeur unless otherwise noted.
Jacques Otmezguine’s The Pianist’s Choice (03.22, 3:00pm) opens in 1946 with sad sack pianist François Touraine (Oscar Lesage) mournfully playing Chopin to a juke joint full of revelers looking for reasons to dance and celebrate the end of World War II, not to cry in their beers. How did he get this way? The film flashes back to the days before the war, where François lived a life of luxury before a family tragedy brings him to live with his piano teacher, Rachel (Pia Lagrange), who comes from a modest Jewish background. But as François’ adulthood looms, the War and the threat it brings to Rachel is never far behind. The Pianist’s Choice is a sweet, sweeping, tragic emotional rollercoaster in the inimitable French manner, filled with a gorgeous classical piano score. The film screens in French and German with English subtitles.
Not to be confused with the horror film franchise, The Ring (03.22, 7:00pm) is written, co-directed, and stars beloved Israeli actor Adir Miller in a story about the discovery of a ring and the long-buried family story that is unearthed along with it. The official synopsis calls The Ring “by turns poignant, surprising, and deeply human,” and promises humor alongside the heavy family drama. The film screens in Hebrew with English subtitles.
Amongst all of the heavy dramas in this year’s lineup, the appealing coming-of-age comedy of Herschel Faber’s Ethan Bloom (03.24, 3:00pm) stands out as a welcomely light-hearted respite. All teenagers struggle to figure out who they are and who they want to be, but Ethan (Hank Greenspan) is a little more befuddled than most: his dad (Joshua Molina) expects young Ethan to be preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, but instead he spends his afternoons hanging out at the local Catholic church taking classes to lead up to his baptism and confirmation. Religious rituals aren’t his only headache; there’s puberty, too, and his growing crush on his confirmation classmate Camille (Caroline Valencia). Greenspan, who has grown up in front of the camera on the CBS comedy The Neighborhood, makes of an appealingly geeky lead, and watching Ethan fumble his way toward figuring his life out offers plenty of laughs, especially for teens.
Canadian director Ken Scott based Once Upon My Mother (03.24., 7:00pm) on the autobiography of Roland Perez, a French lawyer and broadcaster. Roland was born with a clubfoot, but his mother (Leïla Bekhti) fights tooth and nail to ensure that his disability will not prevent him from having a normal life. The tale of drive and determination was well-received upon release, garnering a pair of César Awards, including a Best Actress nod for Bekhti. The film screens in French with English subtitles.
In Amichai Greenberg’s Love, Statistically Speaking (03.26, 3:00pm), a numbers-driven actuary’s wife dies and shortly thereafter, he loses the money from her life insurance policy. Convinced of his analytical genius, he sets out to solve the crime of who took his stash, dragging his granddaughter along for the ride but finding unexpected connection along the way. The film screens in Hebrew with English subtitles.
The festival wraps with its highest profile entry, Eleanor the Great (03.26, 7:00pm), the directorial debut of from Scarlett Johansson and featuring a widely lauded career-capping performance from Academy Award-nominated actress June Squibb. Squibb stars as the titular Eleanor, a 94-year-old woman who moves back to New York to live with family but finds an unexpected connection with a young college student. Eleanor tells one whopper of a lie and soon finds herself in a situation that begins spiraling out of her control. If reviews are any indication, Eleanor the Great is the kind of film that leaves you both laughing and reaching for the tissues, a poignant end to a powerful two weeks of films. | Jason Green
The St. Louis Jewish Film Festival runs March 15-26. Tickets to individual films are $16, and an all-festival pass with access to all 12 films is $102.69. For the full schedule or to purchase tickets, visit here.
