HIS THREE DAUGHTERS Movie Review: New York. Three Sisters. One Dying Father.
By Dean Bruce, PJFM Marketing Associate
Being a sibling is hard. Sometimes it feels like the relationship forces two people who should have the same philosophies and experiences fight like opposite sides of a war. It’s never clearer than in Jewish director Azazel Jacobs’ HIS THREE DAUGHTERS (2023), a family drama that examines the lives of three sisters coming together to help their father in hospice care. The three sisters, Katie, Christina, and Rachel, played by Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne respectively, may come from the same New Yorker father but have developed completely different lives. Katie has become a Brooklyn mother to a teenager who couldn’t care if she lives or dies. Christina looks to be the idyllic suburban mom of a three-year-old she had to leave behind in California for the caretaking. The pot-smoking Rachel, well, Rachel seems to not have changed at all in the eyes of her siblings. The dynamic is tense, made more so by Jacobs’ tactical choice to obscure the father that connects the trio.
“Olsen’s performance is the most impressive...”
Olsen’s performance is the most impressive, helped by a script that gives her character the most explicit information about her background of being a former hippie who grew into a mom. It shows in her parenting style and eyes when any interaction between her other siblings isn’t necessarily all peace and love. The scenes where Olsen finds space to meditate and even tries to bring in her siblings open a window into her coping mechanisms that make her character seem deeply human.
Lyonne also has great moments of dialogue, but more impressive are her scenes when she’s alone, or at least not with her sisters. She’s the only one who has interactions with people outside of the apartment for much of the movie, allowing the audience to have a relationship with the character that differs from her sisters, who kind of view her as a latchkey adult. Coon is a more difficult read as a performer and character. She is very sharp, but the introduction to her character brings such distaste that it sometimes overwhelms any other feelings of sympathy she could garner.
The differences between the characters make for a steady script that maintains tension and feels connected to reality for the entire hour and 40-minute runtime. It holds a firm grasp on its tone, aside from a big swing at the end that works like a charm. It is a pretty dour drama for a comic like Lyonne, but with subject matter like hospice, you’re not exactly left wanting levity. Jacobs gives the three actresses driving this film a good vehicle to create characters that could lead to awards buzz throughout the season.
And the Unapologetically Jewish Winner Is....
After a summer of incredible content from these seven wonderful finalists, a winner has been crowned! Congratulations to Erez Shek (@jewsical101). We can't wait to see your social media journey continue and grow and are so excited for what you will post in the future!
@jewsical101
Revisiting BLAZING SADDLES
Some say Mel Brooks’s BLAZING SADDLES (1974), released 50 years ago this year, is the most influential comedy of all time. The film is certainly one of the most talked about movies to this day, a consistent talking point by fans of offensive comedy and people who believe that Hollywood has grown too soft.
The idea that “ you couldn’t make BLAZING SADDLES today” is a concept that harkens back to a day when comedians could say anything and the word “canceled” only referred to someone saying they couldn’t come to dinner because of an emergency. This statement always intrigued me as it felt like those who brought forward that notion were usually getting the wrong takeaways. If BLAZING SADDLES was made today, exactly as it was, dare I say it might be considered “woke,” a naughty word for those fans of boundary-pushing work.
Mel Brooks’s motivation for making this classic was not to create offensive comedy in a vacuum. While he certainly didn’t have a reputation for shying away from it like in THE PRODUCERS (1967) where much of the humor is derived from a musical about Nazis, Brooks’s desire to offend was not grounded in trying to find the most offensive thing possible: it was a choice to paint antisemitism and racism as some of the most ridiculous concepts known to man.
While there are doubts that uses of hard-edged slurs would be kept in the final cut if the film was made today (including from Brooks himself), the conceit of the film itself is still very timely. I have heard the term “diversity hire” thrown around so often in recent years, an idea that fits in squarely with the narrative Brooks creates in BLAZING SADDLES, a story about a black man who takes over a white town’s sheriff position. There is a cogent argument to be made that this film fits more into a 2024 world than the 2017 world that Brooks claimed his film would never be made in.
By Dean Bruce, PJFM Marketing Associate
WE WILL DANCE AGAIN
Sunday, October 6, 3 PM
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
This program is co-produced by the Israeli Film Festival of Philadelphia, Kaiserman JCC, and Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.
The Nova Music Festival was supposed to be a celebration of life, love, and music for thousands of young people but became one of the first targets when Hamas launched the deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history. WE WILL DANCE AGAIN is told through the eyes of more than a dozen survivors, many of whom videotaped their experiences as the massacre unfolded. The film weaves together eyewitness accounts from over a dozen survivors, along with footage captured by both the victims and Hamas.
While the film’s challenging and emotionally charged scenes may be difficult to watch, it ultimately delivers a powerful message of solidarity, friendship, and humanity in the face of evil, and highlights the bravery of the young Israeli spirits who survived the attack and became heroes against all odds.
TICKETS & INFO: PhillyJFM.org/We-Will-Dance-Again
“Nothing prepared me for the harsh images I saw in the remains of the massacre at the Nova music festival just a few days after October 7th. The claims that the tragedy at the Nova music festival never occurred began to circulate even before the echoes of the screams faded into the abyss. In a world inundated with fake news, this horrific tale is at risk of being washed away in a torrent of falsehoods.
I see it as my duty as a documentary filmmaker to bring to the world the testimonies and horrific stories of the survivors of this slaughter, those who are no longer with us, and the countless who are still captured hostages in Gaza. (And their fate remains unknown.) These are young women and men whose only sin was their desire for music and the passion to celebrate free love, spirit, and freedom. In such dark times, the truth must prevail.
WE WILL DANCE AGAIN consists solely of the point of view of those who participated in the festival; they are the film's heroes. Personal video recordings of mobile devices collected from the party participants, voice messages, surveillance cameras, and body cameras of Hamas terrorists are all connected to one piece that tells one comprehensive story about the morning of October 7th. This film reconstructs the horrifying events, capturing the raw emotions and heroism. It's a story that needs to be told to honor the victims’ memory, challenge the darkness with light, and reaffirm our unwavering belief in hope, unity, and the enduring human spirit.”
-Yariv Mozer, Director of WE WILL DANCE AGAIN
NOBODY WANTS THIS
Now Streaming on Netflix
Two of the most famous TV actors of the millennial age are in a new show together. And it’s VERY Jewish! Kristen Bell of VERONICA MARS and Adam Brody of THE O.C. graced our screens of the pre-Netflix, 2000s era (once a week, to be exact) with their charismatic characters, feisty personalities, and laid back sense of humor. And we mustn’t forget that Brody, who is Jewish in real life, is responsible for coining the now classic term “Chrismukkah” in season two, episode six of his teen drama. The 44-yearold actor/heartthrob has starred in colossal films over the years like SHAZAM! (2019), PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020), and AMERICAN FICTION (2023) but never as the lead nor a Jew. The time has finally come in NOBODY WANTS THIS, and it was well worth the wait.
This 10-episode series, created by Erin Foster with the first two episodes directed by Greg Mottola (SUPERBAD, ADVENTURELAND), follows Joanne (Bell), a short-tempered podcast host who meets Noah (Brody) at a dinner party one evening. To her (and our) surprise, Noah is actually a rabbi, and not to our surprise, Joanne is neither Jewish nor religious. Nevertheless, sparks fly and the two start seeing each other. Inevitably, this wouldn’t be a “shiksa-meets-Jew” rom-com without the meddling of both parties’ family and friends to entertain our screens.
Foster credits the story with her own life. Raised agnostic, she later converted to Judaism after meeting her now-husband.
“I’m not trying to solve any world issues with this show,” she tells Forbes. “But what I can do is create a Jewish story that shows Jewish culture in a positive light and also teaches people some things about Judaism in lighthearted ways because I have had such a beautiful experience embracing Judaism in my own life. I’m excited to be able to share that on a global level.”
The show, currently at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, has delighted critics across the nation, even ones who admit they aren’t into the usual rom-com “boymeets-girl-but-both-have-differing-beliefs” set-up. Globe and Mail calls it the “steamy streaming rom-com that everybody has been wanting for years,” and The New York Times lauds the “smooth rom-com fluency” of the series, adding that it’s “something we have been missing” in television lately.
Predictable romance or not, NOBODY WANTS THIS is destined to become the most talked-about Jewish show of the year.
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