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Editorial Reviews
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Go figure that a movie about scholarly research can pack such a wallop of dramedic pizzazz and entertaining formal flourish in its examination of the arcana of academe and the mysteries of familial competition. Though it's packed with subtextual meaning on any number of levels, the title of this Israeli import and 2011 foreign language Oscar nominee is also a reference to the only claim to fame of Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba). The cranky, crotchety, and exceptionally old-fashioned professor of Talmudic studies at Jerusalem's Hebrew University has all but perished after not having published despite his relentless examination of obscure texts as a fanatical philologist. His lifelong quest into pure research was usurped by a jealous colleague years earlier, and Eliezer has only one reference to his name: a footnote in the work of a long-dead academic idol. Yet he clings to his old-school approach to intellectual investigation with greater gusto as his final years tick by. His rival in scholarly pursuit is his son Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi), an equally serious man who also teaches at the university, but whose flashy, more populous approach to Talmudic study has earned him wide acclaim. The fact that he's authored so many well-liked books is confirmation to Eliezer that his son's methods and expertise are the antithesis of everything to which the elder Shkolnik has devoted himself for decades. When a mix-up occurs over which Shkolnik is to be awarded a prestigious academic prize, father and son exchange more cerebral bites, provoking barks of laughter from the audience as the mistake complicates itself so unpredictably. Writer-director Joseph Cedar navigates the sea of intellectual and family discord with a genuinely droll touch that's as smart and stinging as it is funny. Using an array of zingy stylistic splashes like time-shifting flashbacks, disarming compositions, fleeting fantasy sequences, lively and often bombastic musical cues, eye-grabbing graphical elements, and clever visual digressions that come across as their own footnotes, Cedar lets loose lots of surprises that reveal the characters' complex inner conflicts. The best scene plays out in a miniscule office crowded with books and way more people than the space was meant to hold, where controversy is exposed and the intrigue behind motivations develops in a combination of near-slapstick comedy and palpable suspense. The acting is terrific, from the antihero dynamic between father and son to sideline players in the ensemble cast that includes wives, children, collaborators, and the security personnel who are a constant presence everywhere anyone goes. Footnote is a satire of intellect and domestic friction that cuts deep with dramatic tension and the insight of its often magical realist sense of high farce. --Ted Fry
Product Description
The story of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The son has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while his father is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition. The Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, is the jewel that brings these two to a final, bitter confrontation.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Footnote" (107 min.) is a 2011 movie out of Israel. It brings the rather complicated but intruiging story of a father and son who both are scholars and researchers at the Talmud Department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. As it happens, the son is actually more successful and the movie starts out with the son's acceptance speech upon getting elected into the Israeli Academy of Science and Humanities. Remarkably, we don't actually see the son but instead the camera focuses the entire sequence (probably 3-4 min.) only on the father, who seemingly is shell-shocked and/or confused and/or resentful at the ever-growing successes of his son. Then, about 30 min. into the movie, the father gets the call from the Israeli Department of Education that he'd been waiting to get for 20 years: he's been chosen to receive the prestigious Israeli Prize. Happiness turns to potential disaster when the son gets called by the Israeli Prize Committee the very next day with the bombshell that due to a clerical error, it was he who had been chosen for the Israeli Prize, not his dad!
I don't want to spoil more from the plot, and the movie then really takes off and you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. The movie offers an excellent character sturdy of both father and son, looking at it from both a generational perspective as well as a scholary difference in how each is doing research.
This movie was one of the 5 nominees for this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Movie (Iran's "A Separation" won the Oscar), and rightfully so. This is the complete antitode to Hollywood's mainstream fare such as "John Carter" or "Wrath of the Titans" in that it is an intellectually challenging movie. The lead performances of Shlomo Bar Aba as the father and Lior Ashkenazi as the son are nothing short of outstanding. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people were in the theatre when I saw the movie this weekend here in Cincinnati, giving me hope thia may reach a wider audience. Meanwhile, "Footnote" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
I don't want to spoil more from the plot, and the movie then really takes off and you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. The movie offers an excellent character sturdy of both father and son, looking at it from both a generational perspective as well as a scholary difference in how each is doing research.
This movie was one of the 5 nominees for this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Movie (Iran's "A Separation" won the Oscar), and rightfully so. This is the complete antitode to Hollywood's mainstream fare such as "John Carter" or "Wrath of the Titans" in that it is an intellectually challenging movie. The lead performances of Shlomo Bar Aba as the father and Lior Ashkenazi as the son are nothing short of outstanding. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people were in the theatre when I saw the movie this weekend here in Cincinnati, giving me hope thia may reach a wider audience. Meanwhile, "Footnote" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
FOOTNOTE is an appropriately titled sparklingly intelligent and entertaining film written and directed by Joseph Cedar. With a small cast and a focused story this little film form Israel is not only a pleasure to watch as a story performed as shared by brilliant actors, but it is also one of the most visually artistic and creative venture of cinematography to be on the small screen in a long time: the genius cinematographer is Yaron Scharf. Add to this a musical score that enhances every moment of the story - courtesy of composer Amit Poznansky - and the film simply succeeds on every level.
In a most ingenious way we are introduced to the two main characters - father and son, both professors in the Talmud department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The film opens on the confused and somewhat unattached facial expression of the seated father Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba) as he listens to his ebullient son Uriel Shkolnik (Lior Ashkenazi) being inducted into the prestigious Israeli academic union. Uriel's acceptance speech reflects his childhood when his father informed him upon questioning that he was a `teacher' - an occupation the young Uriel found embarrassing at the time, but now honors his father for this guidance. After the ceremony we slowly discover that there is a long-standing rivalry between father and son. Uriel has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while Eliezer is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition: his only clam to fame after long years of intensive research is that the man who published his findings mentions Eliezer in a footnote. When it comes times for the Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, to be awarded, a clerical error results in a telephone call informing Eliezer that he has won, while in reality the award was meant for his son Uriel. How this error is resolved open all manner of windows for examining family relationships, fame, pure academia, and forgiveness.
The film is an unqualified success. Lior Ashkenazi (so well remembered from `Walk on Water' and `Late Marriage' among others) gives a bravura performance and that of Shlomo Ben Aba balances it in quality. The supporting cast is strong. Joseph Cedar has produced a fine film very much enhanced by the brilliance of the cinematography that tells the story as much as the dialogue. Grady Harp, August 12
In a most ingenious way we are introduced to the two main characters - father and son, both professors in the Talmud department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The film opens on the confused and somewhat unattached facial expression of the seated father Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba) as he listens to his ebullient son Uriel Shkolnik (Lior Ashkenazi) being inducted into the prestigious Israeli academic union. Uriel's acceptance speech reflects his childhood when his father informed him upon questioning that he was a `teacher' - an occupation the young Uriel found embarrassing at the time, but now honors his father for this guidance. After the ceremony we slowly discover that there is a long-standing rivalry between father and son. Uriel has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while Eliezer is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition: his only clam to fame after long years of intensive research is that the man who published his findings mentions Eliezer in a footnote. When it comes times for the Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, to be awarded, a clerical error results in a telephone call informing Eliezer that he has won, while in reality the award was meant for his son Uriel. How this error is resolved open all manner of windows for examining family relationships, fame, pure academia, and forgiveness.
The film is an unqualified success. Lior Ashkenazi (so well remembered from `Walk on Water' and `Late Marriage' among others) gives a bravura performance and that of Shlomo Ben Aba balances it in quality. The supporting cast is strong. Joseph Cedar has produced a fine film very much enhanced by the brilliance of the cinematography that tells the story as much as the dialogue. Grady Harp, August 12
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This bittersweet comedy from Israeli is set in the rarefied world of academia and is a fine, interesting movie about the bitter relationship between a father and a son who both happen to be Talmudic scholars working at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and how their rivalry finally overcomes their filial obligations.
Eliezer Shkolnik (a terrific performance by Shlomo Bar Aba) is the father, and he seems a personification of male old age grumpiness. He looks at the at the rest of his colleagues with an insufferable air of intellectual superiority, and believes he hasn't been recognized to the extent that he deserves, yet the movie hints he is a bit of a fraud himself, his main claim to academic fame is having been thanked in a footnote in a book by a famous Talmudic authority. The more successful Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi, who usually plays young macho men, but here plays a middle aged academic against type), is the son. The film lampoons him for being a lightweight scholar and for being too attracted to the media spotlight, yet he seems to be the more psychologically rounded of the two. The tense relationship between father and son finally comes to a bitter confrontation when the elder Shkolnik is mistakenly awarded an important academic prize that was meant for the son (I'm not going to reveal anything else about the plot).
I'm also obviously not going to reveal the ending but it seems underwhelming and unrealized, as if the director Joseph Cedar didn't knew how to end the movie. Thus, what was a fine film until then ends in a curiously unsatisfying way. Nevertheless, this is a fine movie with many great scenes. I especially liked two scenes: one is set in a small but packed conference room and ends when one academic shoves another to the wall. In the second scene, a very pretty female journalist goes to the home of the elder Shkolnik to interview him and manages to get him to say very nasty things about his son.
Eliezer Shkolnik (a terrific performance by Shlomo Bar Aba) is the father, and he seems a personification of male old age grumpiness. He looks at the at the rest of his colleagues with an insufferable air of intellectual superiority, and believes he hasn't been recognized to the extent that he deserves, yet the movie hints he is a bit of a fraud himself, his main claim to academic fame is having been thanked in a footnote in a book by a famous Talmudic authority. The more successful Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi, who usually plays young macho men, but here plays a middle aged academic against type), is the son. The film lampoons him for being a lightweight scholar and for being too attracted to the media spotlight, yet he seems to be the more psychologically rounded of the two. The tense relationship between father and son finally comes to a bitter confrontation when the elder Shkolnik is mistakenly awarded an important academic prize that was meant for the son (I'm not going to reveal anything else about the plot).
I'm also obviously not going to reveal the ending but it seems underwhelming and unrealized, as if the director Joseph Cedar didn't knew how to end the movie. Thus, what was a fine film until then ends in a curiously unsatisfying way. Nevertheless, this is a fine movie with many great scenes. I especially liked two scenes: one is set in a small but packed conference room and ends when one academic shoves another to the wall. In the second scene, a very pretty female journalist goes to the home of the elder Shkolnik to interview him and manages to get him to say very nasty things about his son.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Insights into Academia and Family
This movie is very deep. At times it plays like a dark comedy. It's always intelligent. This Oscar-nominated Israeli film proffers keen insights into both academic and... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Roberto Pacheco
4.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended
I give this film kudos for originality, sensitivity,and exploring territory an environment (competition among Talmudic scholars) never done before, or at least unfamiliar to me. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Mark Graham
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is a comedy from Israel an Oxymoron?
How refreshing that this film comes from a land rife with strife. The jokes are at the expense of the academic hypocrisy and the situation is amusing. Read more
Published 17 days ago by R. Gawlitta
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nicely done
The film starts with a brisk pace and intriguing humor but settles down far too early. The father character lacks the complexity and nuance of his son, making him completely... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kathryn Kramer
5.0 out of 5 stars
convincing
The movie was very convincing. The dilemas the characters were feeling and the positions they found themselves in, due to their different views of life/work are real, and the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by val
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful performances...excellent storyline!
One important note for this film, which has been deemed "witty", "funny and smart" ?? No, this is neither. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ratso Rizzo
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tedious
If you like listening to dialog in Hebrew in a story about not much then you will like this movie.
Published 3 months ago by J. Grebe
5.0 out of 5 stars
creative, poignant, funny
insightful, entertaining view into Israeli life and the world of Jewish academia. The characters are compelling, the screenplay is innovative
Published 3 months ago by J. Ashar
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought Provoking
Ethical decisions are always interesting. The conflict between father & son is well demonstrated. The ending was so interesting and was thought provoking and opened a lot of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lynn McBee
4.0 out of 5 stars
families who follow the same career path....not a bed of roses
The plot of this film is fairly universal in that many families want the children to follow in the footsteps of the parent both professionally and personally. Read more
Published 4 months ago by carol irvin
