Community
service.
Challenging
coursework.
Lacrosse. Jewish
Student Organization.

Rachel Fine is delving
into her passions at
Kalamazoo College.

It may seem odd to talk about the
study and teaching of Talmud in terms
of accomplishments, competition and
rankings, but Footnote is in large mea-
sure about the universal nature of insti-
tutions and organizations. The Talmud
Department, with its unspoken stan-
dards, professional rivalries and personal
grudges, mirrors every academic — and
professional — setting.
The dusty, picayune and (to some, no
doubt) irrelevant pursuits of the Talmud
professors are meant to suggest our own
professional pursuits, which we deem of
huge importance and are, in the grand
scheme, perhaps not all that essential. It's
a humbling notion, and it turns out that
humility is one of the traits that Uriel
must embrace.
The problem, you see, is an adminis-
trative screw-up that results in an under-
ling calling the wrong Shkolnik with
the news that he has been awarded the
prestigious Israel Prize. There's no way to
correct the error that will satisfy every-
one on the selection committee, setting
the stage for entertaining awkwardness
and bad behavior.
Footnote does a terrific job of enmesh-
ing and engaging us in the lead charac-
ters' predicament and making us debate
what ethical or necessary choice we
would make in similar circumstances.
In that way, it is reminiscent of The

it. Larry David, 64, plays the nun
who runs the orphanage. Playing an
orphanage nurse is Lin Shaye, 67,
who was born and raised in Detroit.
Bully, the work of documentarian
Lee Hirsch, 39, follows the lives of
several families who have experi-
enced a tragedy as a result of bully-
ing. With a new rating of PG-13, the
film opens on Friday, April 13.

TV Notes

The April 1 episode of the hit AMC
cable show Mad Men saw a first
for the show's ad agency: It hired
its first Jewish copywriter, Michael
Ginsburg, a quick-witted, hustling
guy who is an obvious contrast to

Lior Ashkenazi as Uriel Shkolnik (at

podium) and Shiomo Bar Aba as Eliezer

Shkolnik in

Footnote

Substance of Fire, Jon Robin Baitz's great
1991 play about an uncompromising,
old-school publisher battling with his
pragmatic children over putting out a
piece of trendy, commercial junk.
One of the funniest and most pain-
ful scenes in the film consists of a long,
intense meeting in an over-crowded,
too-small office. The seriousness of the
conversation is undercut by the ridicu-
lous need for everyone to stand up, as if
in a Marx Brothers film, to make room
whenever the door must be opened to let
someone in or out.
Ultimately, with its evocation of a
failed father and a disappointed son,
Footnote also calls to mind Arthur
Miller's Death of a Salesman. It's a mark
of Joseph Cedar's talent, and chutzpah,
that he's able to blend farce and betrayal
into this unique and satisfying film.

"K has done everything I expected
and more. I'm able to balance all
of my interests and get an amazing
education," says the sophomore who
will study in Costa Rica for six months
next year.

Drawn to K for its study abroad
program, small class sizes, and
professors who offer personal attention,
Rachel is thriving.

\

And the Southfield native likes that
she's a short drive from family and
can join them for High Holidays.

"Coming to Kalamazoo
College made it possible
for me to continue with my
ewish faith, but also gave
me the opportunity to
learn about different
faiths.

"I couldn't have
hoped for a
better college
experience.'

Footnote is scheduled to open
Friday, April 13, at the Maple
Theater, 4135 W. Maple, in
Bloomfield Township. (248) 750-
1030; www.themapletheater.com

the buttoned-down WASPs who
dominate the agency. Playing
Ginsburg is Ben Feldman, 31.
Debuting at 10 p.m. Sunday, April
15, on CBS is the new series NYC
22. It follows six diverse NYPD
rookies as they patrol the gritty
streets of upper Manhattan. The
rookies' supervisor is played by
Adam Goldberg, 41.
Playing a rookie is Leelee
Sobieski, 28, whose maternal grand-
father was Jewish. In 2010, Sobieski
married very successful fashion
designer Adam Kimmel, 33, whose
father, Martin, was a billionaire real
estate developer and a huge giver to
charities in the U.S. and Israel. Li

More I

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April 12 • 2012

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