BLATT AND BLUE

GOD OF THE PIANO | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16

Anat’s father, Arieh Marom, is a piano composer and instructor with exacting standards that are impossible for Anat to attain. She transfers her driving ambition into her newborn baby boy. Meanwhile, her husband is distant and seems to be having an affair, absent at the time of the birth. Can her son’s dazzling pianism provide the path to her father’s love? And why are these Israelis so uncharacteristically tight-lipped? The film itself has the texture of a ballet, with muted colors framing the music and movements and very few spoken words.

Join us as we look at God of the Piano on Thursday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m. Our conversation will turn on Jewish standards of perfectionism, our devotion to classical music, and our patterns of childrearing and the education of our children. Potential participants can see the film on Amazon Prime, where it is available without difficulty. Call the Synagogue at (918) 5837121 if you have any difficulty locating the program at home.

Blatt + Blue is the longest-running project at the Synagogue dating from the height of the pandemic. Born in Spring 2020, it has run without a break for thirty-five months, spotlighting a diverse and provocative roster of films and television. The series expresses the Synagogue’s commitments to an inclusive and pluralistic vision of the Jewish world. No single endeavor can capture the whole of the Jewish experience. No single institution can exhaust the rich possibilities of Jewish life. Film and television enthusiasts David Blatt and Alice Blue begin each session with a summary of the featured material. It means that you’ll be able to follow the conversation even if you have to delay your viewing of the episodes themselves. After that, it’s questions and comments from the Zoom Room audience.

Join the moderated discussion in the Synagogue Zoom Room with two dozen regular participants. The Zoom meeting ID is 918 583 7121, and the session will conclude at 8:00 p.m., with all the regular security protocols in place. If there is a film or broadcast you’d like to see in these sessions in the future, please reach out to the Synagogue with your suggestions.