Menashe

— This film was something of a surprise to me. Menashe is a New York City Hasidic widower who’s trying to obtain custody of his son even though his culture requires children to only be raised in traditional, two-parent homes and the Rabbi has said his son should live in his brother-in-law’s home until a matchmaker’s helped Menashe find a new wife. It’s a quiet story that feels very real, appropriate for the first dramatic feature by a talented documentary filmmaker. It’s told in Yiddish and, although the story itself is interesting, for a Midwesterner like me, its the texture of the film that's almost more interesting--the traditions, the clothes, the homes, and all the other layers that are part of such very orthodox living. It’s a gentle story that’s worth seeing.

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[2017. 82 min. Directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein. Starring Menashe Lustig, Yoel Falkowitz, Ruben Niborski, Meyer Schwartz, and Yoel Weisshaus.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/menashe-2017