A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff is a film about Alicia Jo Rabins, a poet and musician. The film starts with Rabins walking out of the Wall Street train station staircase on her way to her newly secured artistry residency on the 9th floor of a Wall Street office building after the 2008 financial crash. Originally planning to work on a song cycle about biblical women, Rabins became fascinated with Bernie Madoff when she saw a picture of him in the newspaper and noticed his resemblance to her father.
As a descendant of Eastern European Jews like Madoff and many of his victims, Rabins reflected on the way the actions of one person from a minority group can affect the perception of the entire group. She even discovered a Florida congregation that performed the Kaddish, a Jewish prayer for the dead, for Madoff, effectively casting him out of their community.
Rabins found out that she had a personal connection to Bernie Madoff, as her mother's college roommate had evaluated his credit and a friend knew a lawyer who represented some of his investors. She interviewed these acquaintances and incorporated their recollections into a folk-rock song cycle.
In the film's closing scene, Rabins organizes a gathering of artists to partake in her Kaddish for Madoff. Each artist holds a candle as a visual representation of being a witness. Instead of reciting the prayer aloud, Rabins sings it in its original Aramaic language. She employs her musical talents, alternating between major and minor thirds, resembling the highs and lows of life. To enhance the music, she uses an electronic pedal to loop her voice and add additional harmonies with each line, creating a complex and captivating sound. This final scene serves as a powerful conclusion to the film, encapsulating the themes of loss, acceptance, and the artistic expression of grief.
What film collection would this film be suitable for?
A Kaddish for Bennie Madoff would be suitable on Music or Investigative Film library shelves. It’s about an underground artist who becomes fascinated with Bernie Madoff's vast financial scam and discovers herself immersed in a surreal musical exploration journey toward healing.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
A Kaddish for Bennie Madoff would fit in the musical, investigative, and Jewish shelves of a public library shelves.