Entertainmen
Marwill ® 10, Israel ® 60 on from C5
are twins who are temperamentally, socially, psy-
chologically and behaviorally mirror opposites
in all ways but one: Both learned the fine art of
woodworking and furniture building from their
father, Leo.
"Leo is angry with Jake, who is not the son Leo
wanted, and wishes that Jake, not Mike, had died.
Leo, meanwhile, has been neither a good father
nor a faithful husband.
"Jake's resemblance to Mike is unsettling, but
the similarity makes it easier for him to gradually
assume Mike's life. He re-establishes himself as
woodworker and achieves some success, though
tarnished, taking over the family business. Jake
appears headed for redemption. Yet it is not to be
— at least for now."
The Last Jews of Libya
Recommended by Esther Frank, volunteer
"The Last Jews of Libya is snapshot of 20th-centu-
ry history through the prism of a community that
prospered for centuries. 'Today, Libya is a country
without a single Jew. Twenty-five hundred years of
history of a unique, beautiful Jewish life in Libya
comes to a complete end; Vivienne Roumani-
Denn recounts.
"She tells her family's story of three generations
as recorded in her mother's diaries and letters.
"The Jewish families of Benghazi were worldly,
sophisticated business people who, nevertheless,
were strong adherents to Jewish tradition. But
assimilation becomes an issue. The Roumani
family is among the dwindling remnants of this
Jewish population who cling tightly to their iden-
tity as both Jews and Libyans — though never
quite able to reconcile the two halves."
Knowledge Is the Beginning
Recommended by Suzanne Kaplan, volunteer
"An orchestra is a metaphor made visible. Picture
the absurd: an orchestra in which each section is in
its own box, the strings unable to communicate with
the horns, the percussion walled off from the wood-
winds. Only when each section hears and responds
Israeli Visions
14 offerings from Israeli
filmmakers honor the
nation's anniversary.
Six Days: A documentary that uses archi-
val footage to give a new perspective on
Israel's victory in the 1967 war.
Knowledge Is the Beginning: An orchestra
comprising young Arabs and Jews, under the
baton of Daniel Barenboim.
Sweet Mud: A tender, tragic story of a
little boy on a kibbutz and his fragile mother.
Dear Mr. Waldman: A man's dedication to
to the others is the result music.
"That was undoubtedly an image
that led Edward Said, a Palestinian
Christian, and Daniel Barenboim, a
Jew of Russian descent, to develop the
Divan Orchestra.
"Their dream was to bring together
young musicians from Israel and the
surrounding Arab countries. The dream
begat more dreams: to perform in non-
neutral countries, to tear down the walls
between people and, maybe, the walls
between countries.
"The orchestra has performed in Germany, in
Geneva and in Ramallah, under tight security, to
be sure, but where the musicians were welcomed
as emissaries of a future that might yet be:"
Praying with Lio
Gloomy Sunday
Recommended by David Magidson, festival director
"Gloomy Sunday is an important, beautifully
filmed romance/suspense/Holocaust story con-
structed around "Gloomy Sunday;' a real piece of
music that swept Europe during World War II. It
was so melancholy that hundreds of people actu-
ally committed suicide to it.
"The film, though, is fiction, and is about the
meaning of love, duty, revenge, self-reliance and
memory. What is so satisfying is that this 'pack-
age' of important issues is in the center of a taut
human drama filled with suspense, action, beauty,
good and evil.
"Mat a treat!"
Tickets for film festival screenings are
$10 each. Films will be shown May 4-15 at
the United Artists Theatres in Commerce
Township, the Michigan Theatre in
Ann Arbor, the Uptown Palladium 12 in
Birmingham, the Flint Institute of the Arts
and the Cineplex Odeon, Devonshire Mall,
in Windsor.
For information and tickets, call (248)
788-2900 or visit www.jdff.com .
his dead son and wife lost in the Holocaust
blinds him to the love of his new family in
19605 Tel Aviv.
Out of Sight: A girl rushes back to Israel
after the suicide of her best friend, where she
uncovers a terrible secret.
Someone To Run With: An awkward boy
goes in search of a musician who mysteri-
ously disappears.
David Rubinger – Eye Witness: Israel as
seen through the eyes of a laureate of the
Israel Prize for Photography.
Like a Fish Out of Water: A romantic com-
edy about an immigrant who falls in love with
his Hebrew teacher.
The Orthodox Way: A single Orthodox
man goes out on an arranged date – with the
wrong girl.
Nina's Home
Recommended by Marilyn Krainen, volunteer
"Set in the French countryside of 1944, Nina's
Home is the story of a 'house of hope; where a
woman named Nina is resolute in her goal to
rehabilitate young souls damaged by the war,
separation and abandonment. Although her chal-
lenges are Herculean, her determination is bound-
less as she works to restore hope to the hopeless.
"In spite of their losses, the children eventually
show signs of readjustment. Conditions change
dramatically, however, after news reaches Nina
that Buchenwald has been liberated and that 20
young survivors of the camp will be joining her
household:"
Making Trouble
Recommended by Jeannette Saquet volunteer
"This documentary presents highlights from the
lives of six legendary Jewish-American comedi-
ennes: Molly Picon, Fannie Brice, Sophie Tucker,
Joan Rivers, Wendy Wasserstein and Gilda Radner.
The filmmaker artfully weaves together archival
footage with contemporary interviews, delightful
banter and insightful commentary from four of
today's leading Jewish comediennes: Judy Gold,
Jackie Hoffman, Cory Kaheney and Jessica Kirson.
"The film opens in an appropriate setting
— Katz's Deli in New York — where the four
comediennes are noshing, drinking Dr. Brown
sodas and chatting. Their conversations are like
The Bubble: In a film filled with sexual,
ethnic and intellectual conflicts, three people
devoted to fun in a crazy Israeli world are vic-
tims of self-delusion.
Comrade: A young boy befriends an aging
Communist with an unusual agenda.
Munich – Code Name: Bayonet: The true
story of the Mossad's Bayonet unit, respon-
sible for the retailiation against the Black
September terrorists following the 1972
Olympics.
Three Mothers: Triplets born in Egypt stick
together through their turbulent lives.
To Die in Jerusalem (Israel/USA): A
meeting between the mother of a Palestinian
suicide bomber and the mother of the killer's
victim.