Reviewed by Hannah Heseding
“The Tenth Man”, a movie by Daniel Burman, is a story of identity, of coming home and of struggling to reconnect with one’s religious and cultural values.
After years away from home and living in New York City, Ariel, a middle-aged man from Argentina, decides to fly home to El Once, an old Jewish neighborhood of Buenos Aires he grew up in. Ariel wants to meet his father Usher again and introduce him to his girlfriend Monica.
Unfortunately, things seem to go wrong from the beginning. Monica can’t join him for his trip back to El Once and Ariel finds himself rejected by his father when he arrives. Usher, who has founded a charity foundation, does not show up but instead uses his son to run several errands for him and his foundation. One can see that Ariel struggles a bit with his religious upbringing and with the way it affects his relationship with his father. Still upset about his father not attending his school’s events as a child in order to be the 10th man required for a Jewish funeral, Ariel feels even more alienated from his hometown and the jewish traditions his father represents.
Ariel soon meets Eva, a strictly orthodox and enigmatic girl who works for his father’s foundation. She, too, feels estranged from her father to that extent that she completely stopped talking to him. Somehow, she and Ariel discover a deeper connection and she slowly helps Ariel reconnect with his jewish traditions and old values of his hometown.
The comedy is structured around seven days, finding its climax on Sunday, when the jewish holiday of Purim takes place. However, the quirky story sometimes lacks a cohesive storyline, as Ariel seems to simply wander around the city fulfilling random tasks his father has imposed on him. Usher’s vague promises to meet his son and the weird course of events have an absurd and funny effect on the audience. Yet this does not always compensate for the general lack of drama found throughout the whole story.
Burman manages to create special and authentic characters, although it can be quite hard to identify with the protagonists as feelings are not always directly expressed and have to be guessed by facial expressions.
In general, the story gives a good example of someone struggling to connect to the religious traditions they grew up with. One should keep focus on this aspect while watching the movie rather than get confused by the incoherent plot and random situations.
What: The Tenth Man
Where: Jewish International Film Festival
When: Various Times Event Cinemas Bondi Junction
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