"MENASHE" 3 stars Menashe Lustig, Yoel Weisshaus, Ruben Niborksi, Meyer Schwartz; PG (thematic elements); Broadway
Director Joshua Z. Weinsteins Menashe is a thoughtful musing on the meaning of culture and fatherhood, built around the story of a widower struggling to raise his only son.
Menashe (Menashe Lustig) is a Hasidic Jew living in a tight orthodox community in Brooklyn. It has been about a year since his wife, Leah, died, leaving him to raise their son Rieven (Ruben Niborski) on his own. In order to stay enrolled in his private school, Rieven has to be living in a two-parent home, so until Menashe can remarry, his son is living with Menashes brother-in-law Eizik (Yoel Weisshaus) and his family.
Menashe is a soft-spoken man, but he is feeling the strain of his strict culture. Unlike the other men, he refuses to wear a hat and coat, and an early blind date shows us he isnt all that interested in getting married again, at least any time soon. At the same time, Menashe is chronically late, and his job at the local grocer often leaves him working odd hours, so Rieven may actually be better off living with his uncle.
Weinsteins film is very character-driven, but eventually Menashe settles into a plot built around a memorial dinner for Leah. The original plan was to have Eizik and his family host the dinner at their more traditional and established home, but Menashe wants to prove himself as a provider, so he insists that as her late husband, he should hold Leahs memorial dinner in his modest apartment, with him handling all the cooking.
Menashe also convinces the local rabbi (Meyer Schwartz) to allow Rieven to stay with him for the week leading up to the memorial, with the understanding that Rieven will return to his uncles house afterward, per the original arrangement. What follows is a touching story about a man learning how to do what is best for his child.
On one level, Menashe is an interesting study of a tight-knit culture that will prompt audiences to consider their own backgrounds, religious or otherwise. Its easy to look at Menashe and wonder about that delicate relationship between religious doctrine and the different cultures and cultural standards that are built up around it.
In spite of his own comparative orthodoxy, Menashe also feels like a stand-in for modern young adults, specifically those who struggle to embrace traditional roles as providers. Menashe doesnt exactly aspire to play video games in his mothers basement for the rest of his life, but his individual struggle feels like its in the same ballpark.
Ultimately, thanks to a sympathetic and nuanced performance from Lustig, Menashe offers a thoughtful portrait of the challenge of parenthood and the struggle to be a man and a father. Eizik is often critical and disrespectful of his brother-in-law, but he isnt a bad guy. Menashe is a quiet and touching portrait of good but flawed people struggling to be what they truly aspire to be.
Menashe is presented in Yiddish with English subtitles.
"Menashe" is rated PG for thematic elements; running time: 82 minutes.
Director Joshua Z. Weinsteins Menashe is a thoughtful musing on the meaning of culture and fatherhood, built around the story of a widower struggling to raise his only son.
Menashe (Menashe Lustig) is a Hasidic Jew living in a tight orthodox community in Brooklyn. It has been about a year since his wife, Leah, died, leaving him to raise their son Rieven (Ruben Niborski) on his own. In order to stay enrolled in his private school, Rieven has to be living in a two-parent home, so until Menashe can remarry, his son is living with Menashes brother-in-law Eizik (Yoel Weisshaus) and his family.
Menashe is a soft-spoken man, but he is feeling the strain of his strict culture. Unlike the other men, he refuses to wear a hat and coat, and an early blind date shows us he isnt all that interested in getting married again, at least any time soon. At the same time, Menashe is chronically late, and his job at the local grocer often leaves him working odd hours, so Rieven may actually be better off living with his uncle.
Weinsteins film is very character-driven, but eventually Menashe settles into a plot built around a memorial dinner for Leah. The original plan was to have Eizik and his family host the dinner at their more traditional and established home, but Menashe wants to prove himself as a provider, so he insists that as her late husband, he should hold Leahs memorial dinner in his modest apartment, with him handling all the cooking.
Menashe also convinces the local rabbi (Meyer Schwartz) to allow Rieven to stay with him for the week leading up to the memorial, with the understanding that Rieven will return to his uncles house afterward, per the original arrangement. What follows is a touching story about a man learning how to do what is best for his child.
On one level, Menashe is an interesting study of a tight-knit culture that will prompt audiences to consider their own backgrounds, religious or otherwise. Its easy to look at Menashe and wonder about that delicate relationship between religious doctrine and the different cultures and cultural standards that are built up around it.
In spite of his own comparative orthodoxy, Menashe also feels like a stand-in for modern young adults, specifically those who struggle to embrace traditional roles as providers. Menashe doesnt exactly aspire to play video games in his mothers basement for the rest of his life, but his individual struggle feels like its in the same ballpark.
Ultimately, thanks to a sympathetic and nuanced performance from Lustig, Menashe offers a thoughtful portrait of the challenge of parenthood and the struggle to be a man and a father. Eizik is often critical and disrespectful of his brother-in-law, but he isnt a bad guy. Menashe is a quiet and touching portrait of good but flawed people struggling to be what they truly aspire to be.
Menashe is presented in Yiddish with English subtitles.
"Menashe" is rated PG for thematic elements; running time: 82 minutes.
