The Apprenticeship Of Mordecai Richler

One of Canada's premier novelists and satirists, Mordecai Richler is seen through the eyes of himself and others in this absorbing documentary on the writer's life and literary influences. Finding no substantial literary heritage to draw from, Richler emigrated first to Paris at the age of 19, and later to London, where he lived and worked for 20 years before returning to his native Montreal. Film clips from the film adaptation of Richler's celebrated novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz are used to highlight his ongoing satire of Canadian Jewish life. While Richler claims to have no problem with his Jewish origins, critics have noted an uneasy relationship between the writer and his cultural heritage-one goes so far as to claim that Richler is a "self-hating Jew". As Richter discusses his craft, his relations with his family, and his ambivalence over public speaking engagements, what finally emerges is the portrait of the artist as a caring, devoted man, who unabashedly loves the whole milieu of the book world. Highly recommended. (Available from: Brighton Video, 250 West 57th St., Suite 2421, New York, NY 10019.)