Bernstein and Bahr’s Best Bets at AJFF

The Sea

The Israeli-Jewish director of this film, Shai Carmel-Pollak, is a longtime peace activist who explores in this film the desire of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy to leave his home in the West Bank and make the difficult and potentially dangerous journey to the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The sea, of course, is more than a location. In Carmel-Pollak’s view, it’s a symbol of everything, most of all freedom, that’s been denied Palestinians under Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. “The Sea” won Israel’s Ophir Award for Best Picture and more — the director elicits great performances from the entire cast. It’s a significant example of humanistic cinema, with a simple, powerful story rooted in specific circumstances that has universal resonance.

The Soundman

This visually and aurally stunning film from Belgium takes place over the last few days in May 1940 before the Nazis invade the country. Frank van Passel directed the film from his own script. It’s a beautifully written, beautifully paced work, which Van Passell describes as a love story in a world where sorrow and joy walk hand in hand. It’s about how two young people, a radio sound effects expert and an aspiring actress, find each other in a Belgium that faces a time of trial, both morally and politically. One of the reasons why this filmmaker made this film now, he says, is because, in many ways 1940 is not that distant from 2026 and the issues that we face in the world today are not unlike many of the issues that the world faced in the late 1930s.

The Road Between Us

Early in the morning of Oct. 7, a retired Israeli Major General, Noam Tibon. received a desperate text message from his son, who was hiding in his safe room with his wife and his two daughters. Hamas terrorists roamed outside and even inside their home in a kibbutz close to Gaza. Armed only with a pistol, the retired general and his wife jumped in his car and began a 10-hour rescue mission full of obstacles and detours in the absence of an IDF fighting force. Thanks to its extensive use of cross-cutting, the film is a suspenseful thriller that showcases the courage of Israelis, their strong family bonds, and the strength of the community. And it all unfolds dramatically during the worst one-day attack on Israel in its history.

Rosenthal

This film is based on the true story of Hans Rosenthal, who, in 1978, is the host of a very popular game show on one of the German television networks. The show is planning to celebrate its 75th consecutive broadcast on Nov. 9 of that year. Rosenthal has kept his Jewish identity and his story of survival as a Jew in Nazi Germany a secret from the general public. But who he is will be tested by the choice he must make on Nov. 9.

The Jewish community in Germany, with the full support of the government and its prime minister are planning to observe for the first time on national television the 40th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, that is said to mark the formal beginning of the Nazi plan to eliminate the Jews of Europe. And Rosenthal is to be in the front row of that ceremony. This film holds you from start to finish and explores through the eyes of one man the question of Jewish identity in a Germany that has often faced a difficult road to achieve reconciliation with its past.

Mama

This year’s festival is really strong on movies about women, women’s experiences, and films directed by women. “Mama” concerns a Polish émigré who works as a housekeeper for a wealthy Israeli family. Like many immigrant workers, she navigates between wanting to provide for her family back home and feeling guilty for being far away from them. All these feelings and more come to surface when she returns to Poland for a visit for the first time in 15 years. Long simmering resentments come to the surface and the film is full of the complexities and ambivalent feelings Mila has for her family. The performance by the star, Evgenia Dodina, is soulful, dynamic and powerful. It’s a master class in film acting.

Lucky Star

This is a very imaginative dramedy that’s much lighter than our other selections. It tells the story of a non-Jewish man who believes that the German invasion of France in 1940 cannot last long. He decides he will be better off in the end if he changes his and his family’s identities and becomes Jewish. It’s a decision that leads to a series of adventures and misadventures that make him truly a lucky star. But in leading us on this often-absurd journey with him, the film walks a finely hewn line between humor and the tragedy of life in France under the Nazi occupation.

Matthew H. Bernstein is the Goodwin C. White Professor of Film and Media at Emory University; Bob Bahr is a frequent contributor to Atlanta Jewish Times.