My Father My Lord

An impressive debut by 37-year-old Israeli writer-director David Volach, one of 20 children raised in the separatist Haredi community of Jerusalem, My Father My Lord tells a simple story about a sternly dogmatic Orthodox rabbi named Abraham (Assi Dayan), his devout and pragmatically maternal wife Esther (Sharon Hacohen Bar), and their young son Menahem (Ilan Grif). Volach's film has the narrative brevity of a parable, using words sparingly to reconfigure the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac. Through the tentative interaction of father and son, we see how Menahem's curiosity about the world around him (no doubt echoing Volach's own) is subtly oppressed by his father's rigid, prayerful dogmatism. When tragedy strikes, sending Abraham and Esther into despair, My Father My Lord drives home the point that while religious faith may bring many blessings, fundamentalism can be fraught with danger. Recommended. (J. Shannon)