Queer Films at NY Jewish Film Festival
“On Broadway,” “Minyan,” and “Tahara” lead queer picks
BY GARY M. KRAMER
The annual New York
Jewish Film Festival,
which takes place virtually
from January 13 to
January 26, includes more than
two dozen features, documentaries,
and shorts.
Here is a rundown of three fi lms
featuring queer content screening
at this year’s festival.
“On Broadway”
This loving celebration of the
Great White Way is one of the
highlights of the festival. The entertaining
documentary includes
interviews with out gay actors and
directors — including Ian McKellen,
George C. Wolfe, Nicholas
Hytner, and Tommy Tune — along
with other celebrities, such as Helen
Mirren and Christine Baranski.
Director Oren Jacoby chronicles
the hits that have changed the
landscape and sustained Broadway
box offi ces over the decades.
“On Broadway” concentrates
on smash hit musicals ranging
from “A Chorus Line” and “Cats” to
“Rent,” “The Lion King,” and “Hamilton”
to illustrate what shows did
to draw in audiences. Jacoby also
features a handful of plays, including
“Nicholas Nickleby” and “Angels
in America,” that challenged
viewers, but these critical and
commercial successes emphasize
the power of live theater. (There is
little emphasis on failure).
“On Broadway” also covers
trends, such as bringing British
actors and productions to Broadway,
the demolition of classic
venues, and the Disneyfi cation of
Broadway, as well as the devastating
impact the AIDS epidemic had
on the theatre world.
Another subplot depicts the
staging of the 2018 play, “The Nap,”
about snooker, starring transgender
actress Alexandra Billings in
her Broadway debut. (She is fabulous
in her interview scenes). Jacoby
also showcases mini-profi les
of trailblazers Stephen Sondheim
and Hal Prince, as well as the importance
of playwright August Wilson
In “Tahara,” Hannah (Rachel Sennott) asks Carrie (Madeline Grey DeFreece) to practice kissing with her.
Out gay fi lmmaker Eric Steel’s “Minyan” follows a gay man as he navigates his personal identity.
and actor, composer, and lyricist
Lin-Manuel Miranda.
This documentary may not provide
much in the way of new insights
or information for theater
buffs, but that does not make the
glossy “On Broadway” any less enjoyable.
Jacoby’s fi lm offers dozens
of clips from popular shows that
will induce nostalgia for the live
theatre experience, which is noticeably
absent during the current
pandemic.
“Minyan”
This fi lm by out gay fi lmmaker
Eric Steel (“The Bridge”) is set in
1986 Brooklyn. David (Samuel H.
Levine) is a teenager in the tightknit
Russian Jewish community.
After his grandfather Josef (Ron
Rifkin) moves into a retirement
home, David befriends Josef’s
neighbors, Itzik (Mark Margolis)
TAHARA
MINYAN
and Herschel (Christopher McCann),
two widowers who are now a
discreet gay couple. David is also
covertly exploring his own homosexuality,
as he sneaks into a gay
bar and eventually becomes intimate
with the sexy bartender,
Bruno (Alex Hurt).
“Minyan,” however, is not a coming
out story as much as it is a meandering
drama that shows how
David reconciles being both Jewish
and gay. He tries to fi nd a sense of
self and belonging in both communities.
While the fi lm boasts an impressive,
internal performance by
Levine, and strong support from
the ensemble cast, the plotting is
often elliptical, the pacing is slow,
and the emotions arguably too
subdued. The relationship between
David and Bruno engages because
the actors create some real heat in
their love scenes.
FILM AND TV
However, “Minyan” will likely
leave viewers cold because Steel’s
approach is too observational and
detached. This fi lm does create an
unerring sense of time and place,
and a feeling for the insular communities
being depicted, but overall
it is oddly uninvolving.
“Tahara”
Named for the Jewish ritual of
washing and purifying a body after
death, “Tahara” is also a misfi
re. This drama unfolds almost
entirely in a synagogue during a
service for Samantha, a teenager
who committed suicide. Her classmates,
Carrie (Madeline Grey De-
Freece) and Hannah (Rachel Sennott),
are best friends who attend
the service, despite not being particularly
close to Samantha.
Hannah, who was allegedly hit
on by Samantha, is crushed on
Tristan (Daniel Taveras). She has
fl ights of fantasy about kissing him
that are rendered in colorful animation.
When Hannah asks Carrie
to practice kissing with her, Carrie,
who is closeted, expresses her emotions
in Claymation. But post-kiss
weirdness develops between Hannah
and Carrie, prompting Carrie
to bond with Elaina (Shlomit
Azoulay), whom Hannah dislikes.
Later, Tristan asks Hannah about
Carrie, whom he has feelings for,
prompting Hannah to coordinate a
threesome to get what she wants.
“Tahara” aims to address the
diffi culties these teens have articulating
their true feelings and
the fi lm sparks briefl y to life when
Carrie speaks honestly during the
grief talkback or talks with Elaina.
But too much of the fi lm features
Hannah being selfi sh and insufferable.
This slight fi lm feels long at 77
minutes, and the characters, who
do behave like real teens, feel underdeveloped.
The mini-dramas
ultimately fail to illuminate the
larger themes of identity, loss,
truth, and purifi cation.
THE NEW YORK JEWISH FILM
FESTIVAL | January 13-26 | Lincoln
Center Virtual Cinema | virtual.
fi lmlinc.org
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