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Talking to God
USA 2020
produced by Jonathan Federico, Maya Batash, Kim Jackson (executive) for Box of Joy Films 431
directed by Maya Batash
starring Maya Batash, Sean Haberle, Zebedee Row, Andrew Kaempfer, Kimberly Stern, Bettina Skye, Barbara Andres, Marilyn Sokol, Marika Daciuk, Leanne Agmon, Seth Michael May, Michael Colby Jones, Elaine Bromka, Ryan Nicolls, Nikki Andrews-Ojo, Ratnesh Dubey, Maria Mazikova, Hiroshi Hsu, Dmitri Top, Emma Sordi, Kevin T. Collins, Marina Re, Sam Redway, Benm Caplan, Chadwick Brown, Roger Simon, Shelley Valfer, Fenton Lawless, Brett Dameron, Dawn McGee, Dean Keith, Alex Scully, Seab Bennett, Susan McBrien
screenplay by Maya Batash, partially based on the story Tale of Faith by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, music by Malka Luvovna, Idan Armoni
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Rebecca (Maya Batash) has long been suffering from insomnia, in such a
way that it drives her a bit crazy and makes her start questioning
everything - including the meaning of life. Seeking for both answers and a
cure, she's of course vulnerable and thus susceptible for all sorts of
"miracle cures" that are neither the former nor the latter. And
eventually, she ends up in the Ukraine by the grave of a rabbi who is
believed to have all the answers. But instead of answers, she only finds
more women as clueless and desparate as herself. But she actually falls
asleep - and has a dream (or is it a message from wherever). In the dream
she's guided by a mysterious stranger (Andrew Kaempfer) who tells her the
tale of a man who has nothing (Zebedee Row) and is always happy, and a man
who has everything (Sean Haberle) and is always miserable. Eventually the
latter meets the former and offended by his happiness he tries to stamp
out everything that might serve as a root for him being happy, but never
truly succeeds. And the happy man's secret might also serve as the root
for Rebecca's own fulfillment ...
Now true, the "how to be happy"-message of the film
is a bit over-simplified, and the over-emphasis on prayer (already hinted
at in the title of course) might not be to everybody's liking - but what
makes this movie is that it doesn't try to drive any message home
sledgehammer style but is first and foremost a narrative movie, and a
comedy at that. Thus the (mis-)adventures of our heroine are told in a
light-footed way, are fun to watch, and are relatable, too, while the
parable about the happy and the miserable man is told with wit, often aims
for laughs, and keeps things from going too philosophical. And a cast of
eccentric characters embodied by an able ensemble also does its part to
keep the audience entertained, even if they don't fully agree with the
underlying message.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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