FOOTNOTE

Israel, 2011, 103 minutes, Colour.
Shlomo Bar- Aba, Lior Ashkenazi, Micah Lewensohn.
Directed by Joseph Cedar.

‘Erudition’ is the word. Audience delight in erudition is needed to enjoy this film. It is definitely a pre-requisite. An interest in Jewish erudition and exploration of Talmudic texts would not go amiss either.

This means that the film has a limited audience. Those who would like to see a film about scholars and researchers should see it. Those interested in fine film-making no matter what the topic should also see it. It made such an impression at home that it was Israel’s entry for the 2011 Oscar for Best Foreign Language film and reached the final five.

Writer-director, Joseph Cedar, who had made the arresting film about the Israeli army and its fort in Lebanon during the end of the conflict with Lebanon in the 1990s, Beaufort, has based his screenplay on an incident in his own life: a wrong message about who had been awarded a significant prize.

This film opens with an award ceremony and a speech but the camera stays for a long time fixed on the face of the father of the recipient, plenty of time for us to wonder who he is and why he is not responding happily to the speech of his son. Cedar then uses some artificial devices to inform us: five bits of data, listed, about the father and his life and career, five about the son. The father is an old-style scholar, meticulously scientific in his examination and cataloguing of documents and archeological finds. He despises what passes for contemporary scholarship, especially his son’s, who works more intuitively and explores themes rather than details of texts.

Then the crisis. The father has been nominated for sixteen years for the Israel Prize but has never won. He now receives a message to say that the prize is finally his. But, we realise, there has been a communications mistake and that the prize was really for the son. The son knows this. What is he to do? Claim the prize and further alienate his critical father? Or, remain silent and make a sacrifice for his father?

A highlight of the film is the dramatic cross-cutting from scenes of the son writing the official citation while his father is being interviewed by a young journalist and becomes uninhibited in his criticisms and condemnations of his son’s kind of scholarship.

At one stage, the son’s wife refers to her father-in-law as ‘autistic’. This makes a lot of sense of the character and Shlomo Bar-Aba’s? performance as the unemotional, not empathetic, father whose career has been controlled by strict criteria of scholarship, who can be alarmed by sudden and strident noise and flashing lights.

And the ending? It is one of those which leaves the action just when you are hoping for a clear plot line and indications for the future. It is over to us to reflect on what we might do, whether father or son, and speculate on what will happen. Fine film-making, but specialist.



1. A film of the academic world? Audience interest? Small target audience? An audience interested in erudition and scholarship? In the life of scholars? Competitiveness, awards?

2. The title, the reference to the footnote that Eliezer valued? The personal reference? The attitude of his son, of Grossman – and his explaining how the author put in the footnote, feeling no threat from Eliezer?

3. The nature of the erudition, Talmud studies, Hebrew studies? Audience interest? Jewish audiences? Beyond?

4. The Jerusalem setting, the views of the city, homes, the universities, libraries? Traditional Jerusalem? Modern Jerusalem, the television stations, the conference centres, music, dance, the performance of Fiddler on the Roof?

5. The use of cinematic devices, the parchment look of some of the sequences, the colours, the information, the frames? The lists of points about the characters? The illustrations? The collage of the manuscripts, the highlighting of the words – especially in Eliezer’s exploration of ‘fortress’? Visually arresting? The score?

6. The focus on Eliezer? His presence at his son’s award, the open-necked shirt, his serious face, the camera lingering on his face all throughout his son’s speech, forcing audience attention on Eliezer, his personality, reactions, slow applause, slow standing? Going outside, the security issue and his stubbornness with the security guard? Re-entering, standing alone, wanting to walk instead of going in the car with the family, the neighbour’s comment and his hurrying past? At home with his wife, her shutting the door?

7. His daughter-in-law mentioning autism? Eliezer as autistic? His lack of empathy? His behaviour at the award? The explanation of his thirty years of work, meticulous? Few emotions if any? With his son, disapproving of his son’s work, his own study, reaction to his son’s award, his being nominated for sixteen years for the Israel Prize and not winning? The announcement of the prize? The interview with the journalist? The details about his son’s work? The television interview, the preparation, the compere and the scroll and information, his hurrying away? The effect of sounds, light? His detective work about the citation, the use of the word ‘fortress’, realising that his son had written the citation? His going to the rehearsal, his anxiety, with his wife, standing for the rehearsal and the receiving of the award, waiting in the wings to go on – and the film ending?

8. The character of Uriel? The film indicating the points in his favour? His history, life, place in the family, the award and his speech, quoting his father insisting on being described as teacher? The later reaction of the father wanting to be called philologist? The alienation between father and son? Eliezer’s interview and the detail about his son’s work and his despising of it?

9. Uriel, his life, work, intuitive studies, his speech, wanting to be a teacher, with his father, driving home? His career, interests? His relationship with his wife, love, clashes, with his children, with Josh, Josh’s absence, his making demands on his son, threatening him? Repeating father-son patterns?

10. The mistake in the announcement? Uriel and the conference, his attack on Grossman, physical, the later apology? The discussion about truth, the discussion about family? His agreeing to Grossman’s conditions, writing the citation, never nominating for the prize? The sequence of his writing, the computer, his change of words, using ‘fortress’? The cross-cutting to the interview and his father complaining about him?

11. The scenes of Fiddler on the Roof, the parallels? Tradition? The role of God? Uriel telling his mother the truth? Eliezer singing in the back of the car? His wife supporting him, going into his room to be with him, not telling him the truth?

12. Josh, his angers, Uriel and his wife’s discussion, the danger of repeating his father’s behaviour?

13. The ceremony, the hall, the razzamatazz, the preparation? Uriel there with his family, with his mother? The uncertainty of the ending?

14. The audience left to discuss amongst themselves what would be the behaviour of each of the two, their future relationship?