My Herzl

Two brothers-in-law are at the center of this documentary about the so-called “first modern Jew,” Theodor Herzl, who conceived the idea of a Jewish nation and made ambitious and expensive globetrotting attempts to put Zionist foundations in place around the turn of the 19th century. Here, filmmaker Eli Tal-El is dragged along to Basel, Switzerland, by his Herzl-obsessed brother-in-law David, who has organized a gathering of 27 assorted pilgrims to celebrate Jewish jurist, playwright, and thinker Herzl's life and legacy. Although he's behind the camera, it's not difficult to sense Tal-El's initial skepticism toward the project: he begins by filming David doggedly pursuing his obsessions, which is manifested in the compulsive collecting of kitschy Herzl memorabilia (David boasts of having the tallest Herzl bobblehead doll). But a serious look at Herzl's life and work soon begins to emerge as we meet a succession of Herzl scholars—as well as an actress playing Herzl's wife Julie in a one-woman stage play—who help to balance the deification of Herzl with the warts-and-all truisms of his life. My Herzl is ultimately a complex portrait of Herzl that begs the question: can his failings as a family man and father be excused in light of the inspiration he gave to Jews worldwide? Recommended. Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin)