3. Final Account
Luke Holland’s harrowing documentary about the last living generation of Germans who had lived and even participated in Hitler’s barbaric persecution of Jews. A chilling but essential watch.
4. Shiva Baby
Emma Seligman’s debut feature is an impressively grown-up and commendably well-acted comedy, set at a Canadian shiva. The film is full of brilliant twists and turns and populated with some hilariously erratic and neurosis-driven characters. The score ratchets up the tension.
5.Tick Tick…Boom!
Jewish composer and playwright Jonathan Larson’s real life struggles with writer’s block is told in this beautifully executed musical. Directed by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, this high octane production features a phenomenal turn by Jewish British actor Andrew Garfield as Larson.
Andrew Garfield and Alexandra Shipp in Tick, Tick...Boom! (PHOTO: MACALL POLAY/NETFLIX;)
6. The Tragedy of Macbeth
Joel Coen’s first foray into solo directing without his brother Ethan is an exquisite interpretation of this timeless Shakespearean tragedy. It is a meticulously executed production with striking German and French expressionist sensibilities and is deeply anchored in film history.
7. Dune
Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 fantastical science fiction novel stars rising Jewish star Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, a mythical hero destined for great things. Chalamet also starred in two more star-studded productions this year, namely Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch and Adam McKay’s end of the world farce Don’t Look Up, making him the hardest working actor in Hollywood right now.
8. Europa
Made by a Polish-Jewish couple Stefan and Franciszka Themersons, this 1931 anti-fascist film masterpiece was feared to have been destroyed by the brutal vandalism of the Nazis. It was seized by the Nazis after the invasion of France, but was discovered by chance in the German Federal Archives in Berlin two years ago. The film made its debut at this year’s London Film Festival.
9 Pig
It may not be the most kosher of the picks title-wise, but Pig has one of the strongest Jewish casts of the year, including Alex Wolff and Adam Arkin. Nicolas Cage also stars as a pseudo John Wick out for revenge after the kidnapping of his beloved truffle hunting pig.
Nicholas Cage as Robin Feld
10. The Auschwitz Report
This Slovakian Shoah-based drama strikes the right balance between drama and the need to tell one of the most important stories of the Holocaust. It is harrowing but never exploitative.
