Footnote (2011)
84th Academy Awards 2012
2/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film (Joseph Cedar).
Watched June 1, 2013.
Photo Source: FilmoFilia
Footnote is an interesting Israeli film full of comedy and family drama. The story of the film is fairly boring, but perhaps that is what makes it so good. Despite the fact that it is a foreign film, the story is so every-man and ordinary that the circumstances, both comical and heart wrenching are relatable for even yours truly.
It was not my favourite film, but it borrowed techniques of humor and story telling from some of my most beloved styles that I appreciated it for what it was. The wonderful camera work communicates the extensive family drama. There is even an arch nemesis.
It is the story of a father and his son, Eliezar and Uriel Shkolnik who are both scholars in the same field. Uriel has been significantly more successful than his father, whose life's work was stolen from him and published directly before Eliezar was set to release his Talmudic Studies work. As such, his only published acknowledgement is in the footnote of another noteworthy scholar's book. Eliezar has studied the same thing his entire life, and although he has been nominated every year to receive the Israel Prize, he never receives it. In turn, he is very critical of his son's work, which is much more philosophical and less grounded in fact, as he believes. Despite this, Uriel has been exceedingly successful in his career.
The rest of the plot I will leave for you to discover. The characters are very interesting. Uriel always feels as if he has to overcome his father's poor reputation in the scholarly community, while Eliezar believes that he himself is one of the most knowledgeable scholars. He will publicly criticize his own son, despite his own failings. The marriages and father-son relationships are strained and cyclical.
Yes, I did say that there is a comedic element to this film. It is constantly teetering between character implosion and circumstantial humor that makes it a somewhat stressful viewing experience.
The film is beautiful, the acting is wonderful, and the characters are deeply complex. It is the story that I found as slow as molasses. I believe that Footnote is worth one viewing, but after that I would rather spend my hours on something else.
If you generally enjoy foreign films and don't mind a slower pace, this is something that I would recommend for you. Otherwise, I would recommend viewing something else.
(WARNING: Trailer contains major spoilers!)
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