DONATE
When: Sunday mornings - January 15 & 22, February 5, March 18 & 25
Where: Westpark 8 Cinemas, 3735 Alton Parkway, Irvine
Time: Bagel breakfast from 8:30 am, film at 9:30 am
Presented by screenwriter and psychologist Dr. Michael Berlin, followed by a lively audience discussion
BARNEY’S VERSION – Sunday, January 15
Based on Mordecai Richler’s award-winning novel, Barney’s Version is a candid confessional; a warm, wise and witty story of the politically incorrect life of Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), a hard-drinking, cigar-smoking hockey fanatic and television producer who comes face to face with the final chapter of his own existence. (English)
MY AUSTRALIA – Sunday, January 22
My Australia, a Polish/Israeli film by Ami Drozd, explores an important and often neglected chapter in Jewish/Israeli history with sensitivity and a wonderful sense of fun, creating memorable characters and a strong sense of place. Taking on difficult topics – post-war anti-Semitism, neo-Nazism, Jews who chose to hide their origins and live as Christians – the film gives voice to those not usually heard in the Israeli cultural discourse. In a poor neighborhood in 1960s Poland, young Tadek (Jakub Wróblewski) must balance precariously between childhood and adolescence; his creative inner world and the external world of harsh necessity; Pole and Jew. Street-smart and achingly sensitive, the film follows Tadek closely, presenting these conflicting worlds from his perspective. (Polish and Hebrew with English subtitles)
RESTORATION – Sunday, February 5
Seventy-year-old Yaakov’s antique business is considered quaint, itself a sort of antique, so when his partner dies and Yaakov is left to deal with the finances, he’s the only one shocked to discover that the store is deep in debt. Worse yet, his partner has left his half of the business to Yaakov’s son, Noah, with whom the old man maintains a terse, chilly relationship. Suffusing scenes with dusty, dusky light, and allowing subtle performances to dominate the film’s quiet emotional power, Israeli director Yossi Madmony keeps the story moving at a deceptively brisk pace. The antique business supplies the film with its premise as well as its essential theme: restoration is a way of preserving the past, but it’s also a way of covering it up. A prize winner at three 2011 festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival. (Hebrew with English subtitles)
MABUL – Sunday, March 18
Yoni’s bar mitzvah approaches, but his family life continues to disintegrate as a result of his parents’ failing marriage. Gifted but physically undeveloped, he sells his homework to buy a bodybuilding wonder powder. When Yoni’s autistic older brother returns to the home, it forces the entire family to cope with his presence, even as he challenges them to put an end to their dysfunctional ways in time for the upcoming celebration. Directed by Guy Nattiv, the film is a collaboration between Canada, France, Germany and Israel. (Hebrew with English subtitles)
SHOLEM ALEICHEM: LAUGHING IN THE DARKNESS – Sunday, March 25
An Israeli prizewinner at the Sundance Film Festival, Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness is a riveting portrait of the genius who crafted an entirely new literature and shaped modern Jewish identity. Widely recognized as Yiddish’s greatest writer, Aleichem is best known for “Fiddler On The Roof,” the English-language theatrical version of his work. Says Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, “This is a documentary not to be missed.” (English)
