Footnote [Blu-ray]

High academic level viewing with strong personality disordered star. I felt the son to be a sacrificing martyr. One has to watch the movie and get struck by its content later. The Israelis do it again. Great meanings run through entire film.

FOOTNOTE is the second Israeli film I've seen and while it felt rather insular in the cultural sense, it did explore some interesting themes and had a great sense of humor. The story is about a father and son, both professors of Talmudic literature. The father has largely been forgotten, his only significant achievement being a mention in a footnote in someone else's book, while his son is more celebrated. However, the dynamic between them changes when the father is selected (errantly) to receive the prestigious Israel Prize for his life's work. One thing the film does really well is explore the sometimes contentious relationship between parent and child. Eliezer (father) and Uriel (son) Shkolnik both have the same profession, yet the son's success in light of the father's failure certainly must have weighed heavily on both of their consciences. And when Eliezer is mistakenly nominated to receive the Israel Prize, his son comes to his defense since it would vindicate the decades of work for which he had previously gone unrecognized. There was also the subtle element of comedy and self-deprecating humor that seems to be part and parcel of the Jewish experience. It wasn't exactly laugh-out-loud hilarious, but there was some excellent situational humor as well as some ribbing on cutthroat competition in academia. Still, given the subject material it was a little hard for me to get into the film completely. The single element which I did connect with was the idea that a parent at some point might give up on their child, as I have had similar fears in the past. The film also had a somewhat unsatisfying ending, although it probably didn't have to show everything in order to be effective. The film was subversive enough without seeing what you know is coming. If there's one actual complaint I have, it's that the score was a little overpowering at times. Sometimes, more is less. Overall, the subject of academia is something that's a little too "inside baseball," particularly when it's about the Talmud (I'm not a Jew), but FOOTNOTE has some interesting themes that allow you a way into this story about a father-son rivalry.

It is a miracle that this film was made: a satirical look at the hermetic world of Israeli scholarship, full of inside jokes about the leading figures in the world of Talmudic studies, would seem to be an unlikely subject for a commercial film--let alone one of the most acclaimed films of last year and maybe the most popular Israeli comedy ever. The movie works so well, though, because within its dense parody of intellectual and social pretensions it offers a vivid, at times Kafka-esque meditation on the relationship between aging fathers and their adult sons, the vanity of public achievement, as well as the hapless dignity and Sisyphusian futility of labor. Never is it funnier than in its portrayal of language and the way that words encode unintended meanings while subverting the intentions of its author; it is a work of art that demonstrates the complexity and absurdity of attempting to create a work of art. In short, it is an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable film, even for people who are not Israeli Talmud scholars, because it portrays the most basic facts of human culture not in spite but because of its esoteric, hilariously obscure themes.

Footnote is directed by American born Israeli film maker Josef Cedar {"Beaufort"). Shlomo Bar'aba's name is an error in the title, he's one of the stellar cast. The film tells the story of Israeli academic institutional rivalry and error, of the rarefied atmosphere of ancient text study. of assiduous analysis and the perception of populist conjectures, between a father and son. It is superbly acted,and directed to a degree of such pin-point character realisation and authenticity, that were you to see the actors who play Professors Shkolnik, pere et fils,on a campus you'd think they were faculty members.Additionally Cedar has paid attention to the use of music to heighten the sense of black comedy and judiciously used CGI visuals and graphics to great comic effect.Eliezer Shkolnik and his son Uriel do not get on. The former is an antediluvian academic whose close study of the ancient Jewish texts has never won him recognition and on the occasion he could have by publishing findings of his painstaking research, a rival published before him. When by mistake the Education Ministry calls Shkolnik the elder to say that the prestigious Israel Prize will be his this year, he believes all his years in the wilderness have ended with this richly deserved recognition.The appointments committee calls in Uriel to seek his help in overcoming this disaster, because he was supposed to have been the Prize recipient. Uriel is not only in an invidious position vis a vis his father, who has told the press what he thinks of his son in an interview after news of the Prize breaks, the chair of the committee is the academic who published ahead of his father those years before and will never change his mind about how unworthy Eliezer is as a Prize winner.The Extras on the DVD are also worth viewing, just to get a sense of what Cedar set out to achieve and who his superb cast is. Amongst those who deserve praise are Alma Zak who plays Uriel's wife. Alma is a star of Eretz Nehederet the weekly Israeli TV satire show and also of Be'Tipul which was made into In Treatment and tho a good effort was not a patch on the original; Shlomo Bar'aba almost unknown, and Lior Ashkenazi, as father and son, and Micah Lewensohn as the wrinkled faced committee chair.Anyone who wants to have confirmation of the coming of age of Israel film should see Footnote, if only to be entertained by a jewel of a film. Not for nothing are Israeli TV series makers finding markets in the US and Europe for their productions. They are up there with the best of intelligent poignant and clever story telling.

I wont summarize the plot as others already have done so. Just one comment. The film's most poignant part is where the father critiques and degrades his son's own academic style. When the son reads the criticsm in the newspaper, one can sense the anger that the son seethes with after having sacrificed his own hopes of ever winning the coveted prize in order to not hurt his fathers feelings and then have his father publicly insult him

Not had too much luck with this film.2nd time from a different outlet that the disk hasn't worked. Even though I have a multi region/format player it wouldn't read or acknowledge media content. It even looked like a blank.Sent it back.Have now got an earlier dvd copy with different cover poster from a European outlet, and it works.3rd time lucky.

There's lots going on screen between father and son. In life too, but this film has it by the boatloads. So much so that it sometimes gives the feature an, at times, unnecessary weight. Its ending may also be a bit hard to digest for more mainstream audiences used to the formula of "let's wrap this movie all nice and pretty" because there really isn't an ending. Or at least it doesn't seem like it. It's left to the imagination of the viewer, and it can take MANY shapes depending on what mood you're in.The rest of the picture is very well done with a superb score reminiscent of joyous yet calmer John Williams works, the acting is well crafted and the direction seems quite impeccable. In fact, the Hebrew context may be what's the most striking. I don't think I would have liked the movie as much had it been done by a US crew.A father/son tale as old as time itself, that doesn't redefine the wheel, but certainly entertains, touches, frustrates and makes you even question your own relationship with your siblings... all with a powerful yet simple case of "mistaken identity"... I'm very happy I bought it because it'll be re-watched and analyzed even further.

The story is very good and it illustrates an age-old competition between father and son. Unfortunately, the directing and editing pretty much destroyed the film. Scenes which should have gone longer are abruptly cut off almost mid-sentence and I was left wondering where they would have gone. Other scenes drag on for so long and move so slowly that I had to check to make sure I hadn't accidentally paused it. There is only one good scene with great dialogue and actual emotion. I liked the story but the film was very badly put together.

Un film très bien construit qui permet d'entrer dans le milieu universitaire et de la recherche israélien, sur fond de publications, de citations, de notes de bas de page (référence au titre du film), de concours prestigieux, de lutte infra-familiale entre père et fils tous deux spécialistes dans des domaines connexes (l'histoire et les textes fondateurs du judaïsme), etc. Des acteurs qui sonnent "juste".

Great acting performances from the lead gentlemen for this father/son duel that could stand true for any family.Incredible moments throughout the film, some for specifically Israeli audiences and others that work for anyone.Blu-ray extras were plentiful and somewhat gratifying. English subtitles above average.