Menashe (*****)

The Rabbi tells our hero that he must have a wife, a home, and a good set of dishes in order to be complete. Only then can he take proper guardianship of his young son, now living with his brother after the death of his wife a year ago. That man is Menashe, an orthodox Jewish man living in the Bronx. He slaves over a convenience store job complete with a terrible boss. He works small wages just to afford a studio apartment. And yet he loves his son, and he will do all he can to keep him from slipping out of his life.

So sets the stage for one of the year's most utterly beautiful films, a human story told entirely in subtitled Yiddish that feels like a great human drama at every turn. America is a land of diverse people, and here is one such story, a secluded world that is both entirely in view and yet completely shut off from our mainstream world. A community in which the ultra-orthodox women don't believe they should have the right to drive a car, or go out in public without donning a wig first. A community in which the laws of the Torah govern all, including the belief that should a man's wife die, his children must stay with kin until he is remarried. One woman who just divorced not 4 months ago says "life is for marriage and children. What else is there?" Menashe seems to ask that very question: isn't there more to life?

The story is a simple one - the love that a father has for his son. Menashe (played beautifully by Menashe Lustig) is granted guardianship of his son, Rieven, during the week prior to a memorial service planned for his deceased wife. During this time, Menashe works to dispute the advice of his brother-in-law, the Rabbi, and faith in general. He works to make a good home, to cook, to educate his son in the traditional Jewish ways. And yet he stumbles at every point. He is prone to run late to work, he talks loudly, dresses unlike the other orthodox members around him. Rieven seems to notice, but Menashe only tells him that there is more than one way to live a life.

The appeal is the movie's simplicity, showing us passive moments of a father and son interacting and discussing life. Perhaps we don't understand these Jewish customs, but the movie doesn't seek to tell us they are wrong. Even Menashe, who believes he has the right to live with his son, understands the Word that sets their customs in place. He cannot argue it. In many ways, the world is weighed against him. In a lesser film, we might expect him to lose his job, run out of money, or cause harm to his son through neglect and thus proving him as a poor choice to supervise a child. Many movies would, and in fact there are several times when we fear such a downfall might happen. Think of "Kramer v. Kramer" where Dustin Hoffman runs city blocks to the hospital to save his son after a playground fall, or "Mrs Doubtfire" and the emotional climax in a courtroom. Menashe loves his son no less, and demonstrates that caring in his own unique way.

The film comes to a head when the memorial service is held and Menashe invites close family and the Rabbi to his small home to host a dinner. We only expect the worst, and so it is - he has burned the dinner and the apartment is filled with smoke. His guests complain that the potatoes have an aftertaste of freezer burn. When so much has been going wrong, we hear the words of the Rabbi and his simple statement: "why would this meal not be fit for a King?"And so the guests eat their meal in silence. Then we hear the soft voice of Rieven sing a song dedicated to the memory of his mother, and Menashe joins in with a visible pride. He is not a perfect father, but there is no question that he is unfit.

We might foresee the ending and accurately predict that Rieven goes back to live with his uncle. For the entirety of the story, Menashe shows no interest in remarrying. He confides with some Latino coworkers (in a beautiful English-spoken scene) about the means of his marriage and his wife's death. It's a pained moment that is so truthful despite it being in a foreign language (and yes, our hearing English for such a pivotal scene feels like a bolt of lightning). And the final shot of the film, a continuation of that quiet talk, where we see Menashe walking down the city streets dressed as a proper Jewish man complete with top hat, suit jacket, and payot. For the first time we see him stepping into the role of a respected man, his conformation a sight that is logical and yet painful to see. I thought of it long after the credits rolled, and it's a sad, fulfilling climax that seems to imply a loss of innocence. Here we see the story of a man who was once joyous and now conforms to the rules of his society. It's not a defeat or a loss, but it is how he will finally attain his ultimate goal. I was waiting for a perfect ending to such a perfect movie, and I was so pleased to not be disappointed. Menashe is heartwarming, very funny, and an altogether extremely moving story. This is one of the year's best movies.