Footnote MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +2 Content: +2

Sony Pictures Classics. Foreign drama with subtitles. Opened in limited release 3/9/12.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. Meanwhile his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition. Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son, Uriel, is thrilled to see his father's achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father's when it is discovered that the award announcement was a mistake. It is the younger Shkonik who is supposed to receive the prize.

PREVIEW REVIEW: A sad commentary this film, it being a tale of rivalry between father and son. The father, embittered by the neglect of his profession’s community, finds himself contemptuous of most and contentious with everyone else. And while his son is doing everything he can to uplift his father, the deeds are only seen as dismissive. Deliberately paced and well acted, it’s a downer, but one that reminds me of my own good fortune. I was blessed by having a close and uplifting relationship with my dad.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics