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Film

The Rothschilds, An Antisemitic Nazi Film

Three antisemitic films were released by Germany in 1940, a banner year for Adolf Hitler’s regime. Poland had been conquered, spelling finis to its independence and its venerable Jewish community. France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg would surrender to the German army. Only Britain would successfully resist the Nazi onslaught. At a moment when the Nazi juggernaut […]

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Film

The Guilty: A Minimalist Danish Film

Gustav Moller’s Danish thriller, The Guilty, which opens in Toronto on October 19, keeps you on the edge of your seat. Unfolding over several hours in dim-lit cubicle at a police call center, it’s a well-crafted movie, exceedingly spare, focused and suspenseful. Virtually the only character in it is Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergreen), a laconic […]

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Film

Restoring Tomorrow

Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles, was in danger of abandonment in the first decade of the 21st century. Membership was declining and the building was falling apart. Its fate hung in the balance. Thanks to the vision and persistence of its senior rabbi, Steve Leder, the shul, listed on the National […]

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Film

American Chaos: Why Trump Won

Nearly two years after his widely unexpected victory in the U.S. presidential election, one may be forgiven for wondering how Republican Donald Trump managed to defeat his much better qualified Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Clinton, after all, had excellent credentials. She had been the American secretary of state for four years. And she had learned […]

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Film

Joe And Ben Weider: The Fathers Of The Fitness Movement

Joe Weider and his younger sibling, Ben, were visionaries, the founders of the modern fitness movement. Drawing a connection between exercise, nutrition and good health, the Montreal-born Jewish  brothers founded a business empire that sells gym equipment and nutritional supplements and publishes body building magazines. George Gallo’s movie, Bigger, which opens in Canada on October […]

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Film

Wall: A Film About Israel’s Separation Barrier

The security barrier that seals off Israel almost hermetically from the West Bank is a source of immense angst and controversy. To most Israelis, it’s a “separation fence” that keeps Palestinian terrorists at bay and thereby saves lives. To the Palestinians, it’s a “racial segregation wall” that restricts their movements, cuts them off from their […]

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Film

Free Solo: Conquering El Capitan

To seasoned rock climbers, El Capitan, a massive granite formation in California’s Yosemite National Park, is the ultimate challenge. More than 3,000 feet in height, this iconic monolith has been conquered by skillful enthusiasts using rope and protective equipment, but until Alex Honnold came along, no one had ever climbed it in free solo style. […]

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Film

Fahrenheit 11/9

Long before he was elected president of the United States, Donald Trump said he hoped that Michael Moore, the iconoclastic documentarian, would never make a movie about him. Famous last words. Presumably, Trump understood that Moore would not exactly treat him with kid gloves. He was absolutely right. In his latest documentary, Fahrenheit 11/9, which […]

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Film

A Biopic About Gilda Radner

The American comedian Gilda Radner died prematurely in 1989 at 42 when she succumbed to cancer. What a loss it was to the entertainment industry. She had so much more to contribute. Lisa D’Apolito’s biopic, Gilda, which opens in Toronto on September 21 at the Hot Docs Bloor Cinema, brings her back for an fleeting […]

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Film

Crazy Rich Asians

Jon Chu’s romantic comedy/satire, Crazy Rich Asians, opens up new cultural horizons for moviegoers. It’s the first mainstream Hollywood film since The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago to feature an all-Asian cast, and that’s definitely something of a breakthrough. White British actors appear in the first scene, a set piece in racism and revenge, but […]