The Wandering Jew: A Cultural History

Small, hunchbacked and unlucky, Zadoc dreams of finding love. Chased from his village, he is propelled towards the unknown.

In this authoritative documentary, director Pierre-Henry Salfati traces the history of the Talmud the repository of millennia of Jewish wisdom. In doing so, he posits the question: What comprises this cardinal text of Judaism? Originally passed down orally from master to student, the Talmud is the hidden face of the Torah, or Old Testament. It is a vast body of legal, mythic, and philosophical texts, and a mixture of religious commentary and debate, of history and science, and of anecdote and humor. No other text has had such an influence on Jewish life as it details the principles, ethical codes, and laws that serve as a guide for conduct. In addition to an exhaustive exploration of the Talmud, the film also guides the viewer through the history of Jewish communities, concluding with present-day New York.

More than anyone in the cynical film industry, legendary artist Robert Redford embodies the United States' brightest side: perseverance, independence, idealism, and integrity. A champion of active environmentalism and the right to openly criticize any institutional abuse, he has put his artistic work at the service of his political commitments, whether as an actor, director, producer, or founder of the Sundance Festival, a formidable forum for his struggles since 1985.

As a 15-year-old, Marcus survived several concentration camps, changed his name after liberation, and settled in Germany. From then on, he suppressed his past until it caught up with him again, now over 80 years old. Since he wants to be buried according to Jewish tradition, he needs proof of his identity—the tattooed prisoner number is not enough for the bureaucratic rabbis. So the young German-Turkish woman Gül drives him to his Hungarian village of birth, where no one knows him anymore. Only a blind woman seems to have been expecting him.

Bellisha is a good Jewish boy. He is a 27-year-old curly-haired, weak and nonchalant young man who struggles to become an adult. He still lives with his mother, Giselle, in a poor neighborhood. After the closing of the last synagogue, it is the turn of the last kosher grocery store to close its doors. That's it, they are the last Jewish family in the area. But much to Giselle's dismay, Bellisha doesn't particularly want to leave. He feels comfortable and positive, despite the tensions in the community and his mother's rapidly deteriorating health.

An English hermit has somehow been brought to France in the period following the French Revolution, and prior to the Napoleonic Era, a period (1795-1799) known as "The Directory." He eventually comes down out of his tree into a chateau owned by an Italian nobleman and his wife. Before long, the hermit has washed and bathed and become quite presentable, even charming. However, his appearance in their midst is like a sentence of death for many of those who associate with him.

An ultra-orthodox Jewish family from Aix-les-Bains comes to a farm in southern Italy for a brief stay every year to carry out a sacred mission: harvesting citrons. Here Elio, the farm owner, meets Esther, the rabbi’s daughter, who is tired of the constraints imposed by her religion. Through this relationship, Esther will understand the importance of freedom and find her path, and, in the same way, Elio will find the peace he had lost for a long time.

Philippe meets the beautiful Oksana during a long layover in Moscow. Unfortunately, Oksana is the granddaughter of a murderous mafia don looking to trap a French speaking man to pull off a massive con.

Hailed in France as a national treasure, Serge Gainsbourg was beloved both for his music and for being the country’s favorite ’enfant terrible’. This poetic documentary presents Gainsbourg entirely in his own words, accompanied by carefully selected archival footage, including musical performances and Gainsbourg’s previously unreleased personal films.

Auguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.

Max is a kind of modern Zadig embarked upon an existential and sentimental quest. Jewish and Russian all rolled into one, he quickly feels cramped in his native Ukraine. One day, he leaves his parents, family and enemies for the city of his dreams: Paris. He discovers the capital and the occasionally ferocious and complex ways of its natives.

Margherita Sarfatti, Mussolini's lover and advisor, was a woman who exerted a great influence on the Duce and on Italian cultural life. Through archival documents, autobiographical texts and love letters, the documentary paints a portrait of the woman who helped create the myth of the Duce.