Combining Humor with Holocaust Memory - a new film by Adir Miller

The Ring is a new film by Adir Miller, directed by Doron Paz, Yoav Paz and Adir Miller, inspired by true World War II stories, and written by Adir Miller. Miller is known to Israeli audiences as both a stand-up comedian and a film actor (especially in films by the famous Israeli filmmaker Avi Nesher).

This is a semi-comic melodrama about a father-daughter relationship and also about Holocaust memory.

Arnon (played by Miller) is an observant Jew, making a living as a driving teacher.  He is estranged from his lesbian daughter, Alma, because he does not approve of her lifestyle. His mother, a survivor, would often go to high schools to tell the story of how she was saved by an Iron Cross Hungarian soldier. On the day of major deportations from Budapest, she was carrying her baby boy, running in the street.  When there was a diversion, she took the opportunity to rip off her yellow star and to disappear out of sight.  One enterprising Hungarian soldier followed her, but she begged for her life and the life of her baby, and gave him her gold ring, telling him that after the war it would be his proof that he saved a Jewish woman. Now, more than 50 years later, Arnon’s mother is very ill in the hospital, and he requests Alma’s assistance in traveling with him to Budapest to search for the ring that saved his mother so long ago.

So, they embark on a very special journey to Budapest. On their trip, they encounter a fair amount of anti-Semitism but they also discover people who are willing to help them.  It is a roller coaster ride from the point of view of their relationship.  As part of this journey down memory lane, we encounter many scenes of Holocaust events – a re-enactment of people being shot into the Danube River and leaving their shoes on the water’s edge, and a contemporary conference of people trying to confer status of Righteous Among the Nations on Hungarian heroes,

One of the qualities that makes this film unique is Miller’s use of humor, including black humor at times.  This helps the characters in the film – and us the viewers—deal with some of the very difficult issues that the film raises.

The film includes many sentimental scenes, including one in which Miller expounds on the importance of Holocaust remembrance for future generations. This is the message of the film – it is still vital to tell the stories of our people who perished in the Holocaust and to never forget them.

My Daughter, My Love by Eitan Green

My Daughter, My Love, direction and screenplay by Eitan Green, premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival last week.  This is a film about marriage, friendship, and father-daughter relations.

Eitan Green is known to Israeli audiences for his previous films: Lena (1982), When Night Falls (1985), As Tears Go By (1996), Indoors (2006), and It All Begins at Sea (2008).

This new film features Sasson Gabbai in the main role of Shimon, a widower, who has flown to Paris to visit an old friend, Nissim, who has been ill with heart problems and at the same time, to spend time with his married daughter, Alma, and her family.  Nissim seems to be feeling better and together they spend time walking the streets of Paris and talking about their children.  Quickly it becomes apparent that Alma’s marriage is breaking up. Feeling concerned for Alma, who leaves her little baby in his care so she can chase after her lover, he begins to interfere.

If you are a fan of Sasson Gabbai, there is plenty of him in this film, in fact, he’s in just about every scene!  And if you love Paris, there are great scenes of Shimon and Nissim walking the streets of Paris. The story-line is thin, but the character studies are great!