Leaving the Fold

In this fine documentary, filmmaker Eric R. Scott demonstrates the challenges involved in departing from a conservative—and nurturing—religious community. The focus is on ultra-Orthodox Judaism, following five young people who decide to leave the close-knit groups in which they were raised. Two are brothers who choose to move out of their Hasidic enclave in Montreal, much to the distress of their father, who nonetheless maintains contact with them, hoping they will return. Another is a girl who departs her New York community in order to pursue her love of music, unhampered by traditional practices. The fourth is a young man who abandons his wife and children in a strict Hasidic quarter of Jerusalem, and the fifth is a girl whose family was expelled from the same city because a sister wore inappropriate clothes. Leaving the Fold emphasizes the enormity of the change all feel when suddenly finding themselves in a strange new world, without resources or support and cut off from family and friends—but it also celebrates their courage in breaking free. And while the film suggests the stifling character of the places they left behind, it also finds a glimmer of hope in the person of an open-minded Montreal rabbi who reaches out to those who “leave the fold” with kindness and respect. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)