Mendy

What could have been a beautiful story of a struggle by a Hasidic young man is actually a porn-fest of F words and nudity galore. There is so much nudity and profanity that the little Hasidim left over is barely convincing. Mendy, when he is not pretending to struggle with his Jewishness, is otherwise a good actor. But, when he pretends to struggle with the religion, he is as hollow as a blow-up sex doll. The only way to enjoy the movie, Mendy, is to live in Colorado or other state that sanctions drugs, and wait 30 minutes after a heavy dose of marijuana or uppers. Then, the movie will be enjoyable.

If you want a clean version that is both powerful and convincing, watch The Chosen, 1981, with Robby Benson.

Hi, My name is Chani and I was at the movie "Mendy" last night.

I sat in the theater for a while after the credits rolled and then remained in a quiet space for some time in the car.

My friend asked me"Chani, What are you thinking..." To which I responded "I am not thinking, I am just feeling."

At that moment I remembered the part in the film where Bianca asks Mendy not to think only to feel and his total perplexed look. He had no idea what she was asking from him, he had never experienced that.

I was able to see some progress in my journey, reflecting that I was in a space where I could JUST FEEL and NOT THINK!!! Thank you for that.

The reality: I have watched many movies based on the Jewish Community that I come from, and yet there are always things (sometimes even only one thing) that could never have taken place.. something quiet not kosher. This movie IS ALL TRUE. Has happened to different people at different times. I know them, I AM ONE OF THEM.

I love the fact that it did not have a definite goal or point. It was a story of the Journey.. the hardship we face.. the reality that we have so few choices... the pain we take in becoming healthy individuals in a society that is so foreign from us, yet within miles of our life.

How many of us turn out to be Yanky, drunk, high and running constantly to the unknown, doing the illegal and finding no purpose. How even when we try to make love, we have no words for it. We do not know how to say it, to appreciate its beauty. We make those we treasure run from us due to our ignorance, our lack of social etiquette.

How very few of us find inner peace, inner joy and spirituality among the outside world.

How no matter how far we run, we carry in our bags our Tefillin, and in the most unexpected moments take them out and pray.

Having experienced some of the same issues as Mendy, I can tell you that this movie is very well done. It has a great script, and the actor who portrays Mendy is superb. Truly, some of the best acting I've ever seen. Also, too many movies portraying Jews look totally fake. This one is the closest to real that I've seen. This movie made me laugh and cry, and stirred my emotions better than a kitchen aid stirs a batter. It was so powerful that I can't bring myself to see it again. But I'm sure glad I watched it once. I would recommend it to anyone, no matter what your background is. It's a great movie that almost everyone can relate to on some level.

This film was bad enough to get me to spend my time writing this review.

It actually started out as a big promise. Finding this movie, I thought it would be a nice addition to contemporary Jewish cinema with films like the excellent "the believer". However I was very very wrong.

This is a bad film in every sense of the word bad. 1. very bad acting (the guy's friend was so obnoxious, I couldn't stand to watch him) 2. very shallow and uninspired script (Half of the script is just stupid rambling about f-cking, supposed to signify lecherous new york life) 3. mediocre movie making

This really looks and feels like a student film, and a pretty bad one. The only thing this guys got right is the DVD box which is pretty cool.

For me as someone interested in the line between religious Judaism and secular Jews, this film was a major disappointment and embarrassment. It is filled with the worst kind of stereotypes about orthodox Jews and about secular new-yorkers. Some parts got me so disgusted I could hardly watch it.

It wouldn't have made me so angry, if it weren't that this film even won awards in different film festivals like the San Paolo film festival, Bendfilm festival and Brooklyn festival. How on earth can that be??? I can't believe they didn't find better films to give awards to. Probably the politics of cinema played some parts here.

Anyway, spare your time. And if you wish to see a decent movie about a displaced Jew, go watch "the believer" or even "the chosen", but please not this one.

1/10

I'm sorry guys, but this movie is bad.

Ivan Sandomire's performance, the music, and some externals (including the B&W still pictures) are good, but not strong enough to save the film.

I found the screenplay particularly unconvincing and the direction quite uninspired. The overall result looks more like a graduation project than a proper production.

It may be enriching for those struggling with emancipation from Hassidic Jews communities, but it fails to be compelling to a broader audience. As it talks about a young man in search for understanding, identity, and love, it could be much better.

I also found the representation of Brazilian culture, of which I know a thing or two, outrageously inaccurate and small-minded. It surprised me that it got best actress and best picture award in São Paulo International Film Festival (which is misspelled in the DVD cover as "Sao Paolo"). I went to the festival website archives (www.mostra.org) and found no confirmation. Perhaps they are referring to another festival or to nominations, which I would consider it misleading.

In anyway, for a really good movie showing the interaction of Jews and Brazilian culture, check "the year my parents went on vacation" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857355/).

I hope this review helps.