Between the Temples

Not being Jewish myself, it's always hard for me to understand movies about devoutly Jewish people. Like the way parents treat their kids in films about Jewish families seems almost abusive, and I never understand why the kids put up with such controlling behavior. And I'll never understand parents setting their kids up with presumptive spouses, as that wasn't part of my upbringing at all.

So some of the conflicts in "Between the Temples" felt more frustrating than compelling to me, because they seemed so easily resolvable. But otherwise, this is an amiable enough movie that has a sweet performance by Carol Kane. Her complicated relationship with Jason Schwartzmann, a kind of "Harold and Maude" situation that doesn't go quite as far, gives the film its central plot, and the movie is at its best when those two are on screen together.

I didn't care for the film's visual style at all. It's like a John Cassavetes movie, with a roving, jittery camera that zooms in for extreme closeups. The film looks like a documentary, which doesn't fit its tone at all.

Grade: B.

Between the Temples is a 2024 "comedy" directed by Nathan Silver. "Comedy" in quotations because this is really not a 'haha' comedy life American audiences are used to, but a drama with a universal lens of levity and funny *life* moments. There really aren't many examples of this genre in western media, but in many eastern movies and TV shows, this would easily slot into the genre called "Slice of Life". There are so few that the only one that I can think of off the top of my head is the masterpiece novel Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. Undoubtably, this was made with much love and many winks for Jewish audiences, as the punctuated laughter throughout my viewing showed, but underneath that is a very pure, human, down to earth story about the healing power of human connection.

For starters, the dialogue and especially the layered dialogue performances by all the characters throughout the film are so real, it's uncanny at times. We can't help at laugh and cringe at awkward dinner scenes that are so like the ones many of us have been apart of in our lives. The script is tight, and the story flows beautifully, although it might not be clear until the end where the story is going. This is something that is just going to be inherent to the genre because, like life, it's not clear what the story arc is until it's over. The film is also very timeless, as it's based around a small community and makes very infrequent use of technology or modern plot devices. It could as easily have been made in 1980 as in 2024. I have some gripes about the photography of the film, but its undeniable that there is a cozy and timeless feel to the whole movie. Solid acting jobs all around by the entire cast. I'm not sure that anyone particularly stood out beyond the great dialogue writing, but everyone played their part well. In this absolutely charming, down to earth story about human connection, the most stunning moments are often the most mundane -- just moments when the two leads are in on room together, riffing back and forth.

As you can tell, I'm exceptionally charmed by this film, but there are a couple negative things I can note. For one, the choice to use a very dated 90s digital photography setup didn't do much for me. The picture was very noisy, and I'm not sure that any of the film's great qualities would be taken away if a modern 2024 digital photography setup was used. Another thing is that the film is very Jew-centric and therefore non Jewish audiences will inevitably miss a lot of jokes. I knew there were quite a few camera gags that I didn't understand, but the Jewish audience members were howling at. Nonetheless, I still think the underlying film is great. A few genre-specific points as well: it's not quite clear for much of the film as to where the film is going, or even how long the timeline of the film is. Silver does a decent job at re-grounding the audience periodically as to what is happening when, but it can still be a bit confusing due to the way the film is edited. The film purports to be over the course of 3ish weeks, but it could easily have been over the course of a few months. A minor gripe, but still.

As the gap between critical acclaim for this film and audience despair widens, I have to say that I think this is a case of the media not being to the western audience's tastes. That's totally understandable, so if a cozy and somewhat funny human interest story appeals to you, then please please please give Between the Temples a watch!

The first thing, and really only thing, one should know about this film before they see it is it's a straight up homage to 70s film making. This means there are certain camera choices and character behaviors that won't bother you in the least if you are into that era of movie making. However, if you are not familiar the genre or out right hate it, this is not the film for you.

The last film I saw do this retro style was the 2023 Paul Giamatti movie, The Holdovers. If you enjoyed that movie, you likely will enjoy this. Or least you shouldn't hate it.

Between the Temples tells the story of a Cantor who clearly needs a psychologist but who everyone else seems to think just needs to get laid. One day, he meets his former music teacher who wants to get back to her Jewish roots and get a bat mitzvah. What's a bat mitzvah? Think of it as a coming of age party. But honestly, you do not need to know a thing about Judaism to get what's happening here. Since the films only true religion is cringe. There are scenes right from the top to almost the end that are absolute flinch inducing. All realistic but embarrassing as hell.

This is a small heart felt little movie that should be enjoyed by those in the right mindset.

"Cantor Ben" (Jason Schwartzman) has recently become a widower and is struggling to get on with his job working for Rabbi "Bruce" (Robert Smigel) at the Sinai Synagogue. He has one too many chocolate-laced "Mudslingers" in a bar one evening and that leads to an altercation that leads to a reunion with "Carla" (Carol Kane). Though neither recall immediately, it transpires that she used to be his childhood music teacher. Next thing we know, she has turned up at his synagogue where she declares her Jewish heritage and that she wishes to have her Bat Mitzvah. I didn't know that took over year to study and prepare for, and neither did she - but after a bit of convincing, he is cajoled into preparing her and the story picks up the pace as, predictably but not in a predictable fashion, the two start to bond. "Ben" lives with his two mothers - "Judith" (Dolly De Leon) and "Meira" (Caroline Aaron) who are keen on him settling down again with a nice girl, and to that end they try to set him up with the Rabbi's daughter "Gabby" (Madeline Weinstein) but somehow we just know that this solution that would please friends and family alike isn't likely to be the one he goes for. It's not especially innovative, this film - we've seen this sort of drama often before. What this does, though, is entertainingly take a look at the contractions of tradition and at belligerence. It invites us to consider what makes people happy, why age matters, and two dinner scenario towards the end provide for quite an effective conduit for true colours to come out and judgements to be delivered. It's comedic rather than a comedy - there aren't any laugh-out-loud moments; with the writing quite potent at times and an enjoyable rapport developing between the two characters uncertain of their next move. Kane steals this with her delicate delivery of a strong yet venerable persona, and although it does strive to contrive once or twice, it's still quite an enjoyable look at hypocrisy and faith and kosher burgers.

I was not Bat Mitzvahed, but had the opportunity to learn to read Torah at the age of 50. As soon as I saw a review of this film, I knew that I had to see it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was moved on a very personal level.

The performances were superb, the script was sharp and funny. Most of the details were spot-on, many of them recalling my own and my family's experiences. That said, I can understand why viewers who are less familiar with Jewish ritual and culture might be left cold by the film.

Coming to Torah later in life, I, of course, related strongly to Carla's character. The one glaring flaw I felt was the absence of a Torah scroll in film. Reading from the scroll, copied and produced exactly as it had been for milennia, was an overwhelming part of the experience for me. It gave me a connection to ritual and history that I'd never experienced before.