Footnote

The old adage that academic politics are vicious because the stakes are so low might come to mind while watching Israeli writer-director Joseph Cedar's Oscar-nominated Footnote, which offers acute observations on the rivalries within the rarefied field of Talmudic philology—blended into a larger tale of father-son rivalry poisoned by ambition and feelings of inferiority. Pedantic Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba) has spent his career carefully sifting readings from medieval manuscripts of the Torah to prove the existence of an alternative text, only to have his thunder stolen by a hostile colleague. Meanwhile Eliezer's son, Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi)—working in the same field—is celebrated because his more popular works appeal to a wide readership. Eliezer considers Uriel's books to be shallow and unscientific but envies the renown his son has won while his own achievements are ignored. Their already tense relationship threatens to explode when Eliezer is erroneously informed that he has finally been awarded the prestigious Israeli Prize, when the winner is actually Uriel. Footnote raises issues that run the gamut from the intensely personal to the highly political, inserting a vein of dark humor into the narrative while still maintaining real respect for the work that scholars do. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (24 min.), “An Evening with Joseph Cedar” interview with the director (10 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine foreign film.] (F. Swietek)