96 | MAY 20 • 2021 T he 20th annual Ann Arbor Jewish Film Festival (AAJFF) begins this month with 22 films, including two short film programs. The festival starts May 22 and runs through Aug. 24. Noemi Herzig, director of Jewish Cultural Arts and Adult Education for the Ann Arbor JCC, believes the spread-out schedule allows time for moviegoers to take the movies in. “It’s such an eclectic festi- val this year, we have a little bit for everybody,” she said. “The committee worked very hard to come up with a var- ied selection.” The festival takes place under the Ann Arbor JCC banner and partners with the Michigan Theater, with all film screenings and events taking place via Michigan Theater’s online platform, AgileLink. Selections include films portraying people of color, family films, Holocaust mov- ies, Israeli movies, an LGBT film, two films involving food, a movie about art and more. The two short film pro- grams include a documen- tary short program and a narrative short program. Audience members will rate each documentary short and narrative short and deter- mine which one will receive their respective festival awards. Pierluigi Erbaggio, the organizing committee chair of Metro Detroit’s Italian Film Festival USA, played a major role in curating the short film programs. Thea Glickman, a new member of the AAJFF committee, made the connection between the two parties. A Film Festival Pass allows access to all online film screenings and programs and costs $180. You can also rent individu- al movies for $12 each, while Michigan Theater members can rent for $10 per film. Sponsorship opportuni- ties are also available, with wide-ranging benefits avail- able for the different levels including specific sponsor listing, dinners and sponsor events. Sponsors and festival pass holders will have access to the Michigan Theater’s premium streaming service once they have created an account and signed up on the Michigan Theater’s website. This will allow access to all festival films without any additional payment. To purchase festival passes, rent specific movies, become a sponsor or to learn more, visit film.jccannarbor.org. KUNIS, CRYSTAL & HADDISH Two movies, starring three major Jewish stars, opened recently in theaters: Four Good Days (April 30) and Here Today (May 7). I didn’t write about them in advance because I had a feeling reviews would be mixed at best. As I expected, Four Good Days, starring Mila Kunis, 37, got the same so-so reviews as when it played the Sundance Film Festival early in 2020. Kunis stars as a long-term heroin addict determined to stay clean for four days to qualify for a hos- pital rehab slot. She recruits her mother (Glenn Close) to help her. This is Kunis’ first edgy dramatic performance and she’s good. This alone makes it worth viewing. Some scenes are flat, but, as one reviewer said, by the end, the movie does make you care about the mother and daugh- ter. (Starts streaming May 21). Billy Crystal, 73, plays a top comedy writer starting to struggle with dementia in Here Today. He chances to meet an unknown singer (Tiffany Haddish, 41) and they hit it off. As I expected, Today fits into the pattern of films Crystal writes — review- ers say there are many good moments — but the jokes and plot aren’t consistent. Crystal has written six films, including Today, and not one, including Today, has got bet- ter than mixed reviews. But you really must watch the profile of Crystal and Haddish that aired on CBS Sunday Morning on May 2. Titled Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish on comedy, friend- ship and a bat mitzvah, it’s posted on YouTube. It’s just, well, heart-warming to hear how these Jews of different colors and generations hit it off and became great per- sonal friends. Its moving to see Haddish embrace her Jewish ancestry at her 2019 bat mitzvah (a clip is shown) — it’s equally moving to hear Crystal talk about the honor he felt when Haddish asked him to make an aliyah at her bar mitzvah. (Streaming date not-yet-set). On May 17, Netflix began streaming The Last Days, a documentary about the Holocaust in Hungary. Produced by Steven Spielberg, it won the Oscar (1996) for best documentary. Hungary was the last country in Middle Europe to feel the full fury of the Holocaust. Most members of the pre-war Hungarian Jewish community (about 800,000) were still liv- ing when the Nazis occupied Hungary in March 1944. By war’s end (April 1945), only 265,000 were still alive. NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST COLLIDERVIDEO VIA WIKIPEDIA Mila Kunis Billy Crystal GAGE SKIDMORE ARTS&LIFE CELEBRITY NEWS A Summer of Film Ann Arbor Jewish Film Festival goes from May 22-Aug. 24. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER ARTS&LIFE FILM