An eye-opening look at a secluded culture, from a perspective that is often voiceless in modern times, Menashe is a film that is equal parts educational and heart-breaking.
Allowing the audience to peer into the life of an orthodox Hasidic Jewish Man, Menashe gives an unabashed contrast between the modern and the traditional; following a contemporary scenario of a life hidden from the public eye.
For a bit of context, Hasidism is quite different to the more conventional form of the Jewish faith that most are familiar with. A sub-group of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism noted for its religious conservatism and social seclusion, Hasidic Jews are characterized by their dress code (including black hats, black coats and yarmulkes), use of the Yiddish language and their strict adherence to religious texts such as the Torah. While uncommon within Australia, the estimated Hasidic Jewish population in North America is between 90,000 and 100,000, with this population being most concentrated in Brooklyn, New York – which is both the setting and where Menashe was filmed.
Despite its niche premise, Menashe is an accessible and deeply relatable story for many, even though the film is entirely in Yiddish (with English subtitles, of course). The touching father-son drama is the feature narrative debut of documentarian Joshua Z Weinstein, based off the real life of lead actor and namesake of the film, the 38-year-old Hasidic Jew, Menashe Lustig.
The film follows Menashe, one year after his wife has passed away, as he struggles to gain custody of his son within his orthodox community. While he has no plans to marry again soon, the strict faith he’s apart of believes that men cannot be alone and raise children, and as such his son is sent to live in another Hasidic household.
If that doesn’t sound like enough of a tear-jerker, the film gives us a ring-side seat to Menashe’s tragic life: working in a convenience store that barley affords his run-down apartment, where he lives alone with whatever time he can manage with his ten-year-old son, Rieven. While the struggle of raising a young child, and giving them the life they deserve, is something any parent can relate to, the unusual and confronting family life that’s presented within the film gives its own set of difficulties.
This bleak setting is suited by the perverse, fly-on-the-wall cinematography used throughout the film, offering an intimate perspective to this slice-of-life – as if us as the audience were looking into something that has been kept secret until now. While these elements all combine to make a story that is dark yet charming, the film undoubtedly hinges off Lustig’s performance, and he delivers. As stories laced in real life often affect us deeply, Lustig’s portrayal of his own tragic experiences is sure to stick with any viewer as he brings the screen to life (you might even forget you’re watching it in Yiddish).
Earnest, emotional and unlike any film you’ve ever seen before, Menashe give a potent and dramatic look into an isolated community that’s so authentic that it could be a documentary. If you want a film to make you think differently about the world, this is definitely one to consider.
