Tag Archives: cinema

Jane (Death & Primate Aggression)

Posted on March 13, 2018 by zjb

(SPOILER ALERT) I missed seeing Jane, the documentary on Jane Goodall by Brett Morgan when it was out in the theaters. It aired last night on television on the National Geographic channel. Taking a break from I Claudius and from thinking … Continue reading →

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Arabic Movie (Eyal Sagui-Bizawe)

Posted on February 14, 2018 by zjb

The Jewish Studies Program at Syracuse was delighted to host last night a screening of Arabic Movie (2015) and conversation with filmmaker Eyal Saguui-Bizawe. The movie explores the institution of the Friday afternoon “ceremony” of watching what was called “Arabic … Continue reading →

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How Not to Dialogue About Israel and Palestine (In the Land of Pomegranates)

Posted on January 9, 2018 by zjb

The few American reviews that I found online seem frustrated without understanding just why Hava Kohav Beller’s documentary In the Land of Pomegranates is such a hopeless reflection upon the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The documentary follows a group of young Israeli Jews … Continue reading →

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The Cinema of Spiritual Life (Deleuze)

Posted on November 27, 2017 by zjb

A fascinating quote by Deleuze on cinema and thought the keyterms of which are “decision,” “obstinacy,” “choice,” “existence,” and “spiritual life.” “The reverse was also true, one went right from cinema to philosophy. Something bizarre about the cinema struck me: … Continue reading →

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(Cinema of Talmud) Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (Joseph Cedar)

Posted on April 28, 2017 by zjb

Riffing gently off the title of Pasolini’s essay “Cinema of Poetry,” let’s call Joseph Cedar’s most recent release an exercise in the “cinema of Talmud.” To be sure, Norman has to be viewed with an eye towards the narrative arc. … Continue reading →

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(Pasolini) Hardscrabble Religious Image (The Gospel According to St. Mathew)

Posted on April 20, 2017 by zjb

I think one could reasonably argue that in modern art, including cinema, including cinema that touches upon “the spiritual in art,” the background frames are more important than the figures operating on the foreground. The ones that grabbed me most … Continue reading →

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A Christian-Pagan Philosophy of Life (“What Now? Remind Me”) (Joaquim Pinto) 

Posted on April 13, 2017 by zjb

Joaquim Pinto’s Portuguese language film What Now? Remind Me is too big a film to lend itself to a narrative or scene-by-scene exposition. Along with a conversation with the director, it was screened as a plenary session at “The Place … Continue reading →

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The Place of Religion in Film (Islam & Judaism) (Conference Notes)

Posted on April 5, 2017 by zjb

Here are some quick notes from the recent Place of Religion in Film conference at Syracuse, organized by my friend and colleague Gail Hamner. What caught my attention was the prominence of Jews and Muslims, especially in relation to gender, in … Continue reading →

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(Conference) The Place of Religion in Film (Syracuse University)

Posted on March 28, 2017 by zjb

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE MARCH 31 – APRIL 1 2017 Friday 9 – 10:40 a.m. (3) Panel 1 Reinhartz, Religion, Body and Place inFélix et Meira (Quebec, 2014) Shenker, That made me a woman: On body and gender representations in Israel’s religious-community films-making … Continue reading →

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Junction 48 (Tamer Nafar)

Posted on December 4, 2016 by zjb

Went to the JCC on the Upper West Side to see Junction 48, an Israeli Palestinian film co-written by Tamer Nafar and Oren Moverman and directed by Udi Aloni. At turns biting and sentimental, the movie is a biting and … Continue reading →

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