JEW BOY

Australia, 2005, 52 minutes. Colour.
Ewen Leslie, Naomi Wilson, Saskia Burmeister, Leah Vandenberg, Nicholas Eadie, Chris Haywood, Nathan Besser, Alice Mc Connell.
Directed by Tony Krawitz.

A short first feature set in Sydney. Yuri is a young Chassidic Jew who has been studying in Israel but returns home when his father, a Rabbi, dies. This is a story similar to those told about young men brought up in a strict, even rigid, environment. The desire to move outside and discover and test oneself becomes a powerful drive.

Yuri moves away from home, drives a taxi, meets a wide range of people, is bothered by his sexuality, makes friends but makes mistakes. This is a brief journey towards self-awareness that does tell us definitively what will happen to Yuri.

For non-Jewish audiences, there is a feeling of being quite outside the opening sequences, observing detailed ritual, sensing the prohibitions (especially against touch before marriage) and the effect that these have on different people.

The end shows Yuri and his guardian, Minnie, watching television, a symbol of fightback in struggle – a pity that the player is Mark Philippousis who fights back but tends not to win.

1. The work of the director, South Australia, Australian contribution? To Jewish issues? The impact for Jewish audiences, for those not sharing Jewish perspectives? The appeal for respect?

2. Sydney, the grainy photography, the taxis, the night, sexual encounters? The Jewish atmosphere? The musical score?

3. The title, its impact, the use of the word? Insult?

4. The importance of Jewish traditions? The burial, the washing, hats, ceremonies, the ashes? Yuri and his attitudes? Forgiveness?

5. Yuri and Rivka? The hurt, touching or not, the tensions?

6. The Yeshivah, the possibilities, giving up?

7. Yuri’s change, the cap, the taxi, the classes, the encounter with Sarita? The passengers? Sexual encounters?

8. Minnie, her character, the visit, fighting Rivka?

9. The overall effect, on Yuri? Audience empathy with him and his problems?

10. Minnie, the television, the tennis match – and Mark Philippoussis? (And his losing?)