Steven E. Bram goes on a very personal spiritual quest in KABBALAH ME
KABBALAH ME (Steven E. Bram & Judah Lazarus, 2014)
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Opens Friday, August 22
212-255-2243
www.quadcinema.com
www.kabbalahme.com
Approaching fifty, Steven E. Bram was looking for something different in his life. A maker of sports documentaries, a New York Jets fan, and a Dead Head, Bram realizes, “I’m hungry for a deeper kind of spirituality,” as he says in his new film, Kabbalah Me. “The challenge is where to find it.” Bram thinks he may have found it when he is led into the world of Kabbalah, the mysterious and mystical side of Judaism. The married father of two heads off in search of faith and wisdom in the film, which he made with music video director Judah Lazarus, journeying from Crown Heights to Jerusalem as he attempts to fill this major void in his life by investigating the myriad mysteries of Kabbalah. The pilgrimage leads him to relatives he’s never met before and charismatic rabbis, every one of whom has a unique interpretation of not only what Kabbalah is but when someone should enter its realm; one rabbi considers it dessert after the big meal of traditional Judaism, but others believe it’s open to anyone at any time. Meanwhile, Bram’s wife, Miriam, and his business partner, Bob Potter, are confused about his search; his spouse, in particular, is concerned about whether her husband is going to become a different person from the man she married — and, as the film shows, these are certainly legitimate fears. “I guess I have to take it one step at a time,” she says. “I mean, I prefer he not be too extreme because that would be in conflict with what I want.” But the seemingly kindhearted Bram continues his quest for fulfillment in what can certainly be considered selfish ways, and that can be a bit off-putting to viewers who don’t know him. His friends in the film may give him the benefit of the doubt, but to strangers he can come off as more than a bit overly self-involved. In addition, viewers looking to learn a lot about Kabbalah from the film will be disappointed, as it only breaches the surface with multiple explanations, resulting in more questions than answers. But Bram still manages to be an engaging character, and it’s easy to follow his exploration while wondering if there’s anything missing in your own life. Kabbalah Me opens August 22 at the Quad, with several weekend screenings followed by a Q&A with Bram.
Adam Sandler and Emily Watson are outstanding in Paul Thomas Anderson’s stream-of-consciousness acid trip of a movie about a childlike man with an inner demon. Barry Egan is a marvelous character, filled with complexity and lots of surprises, and Sandler embodies the role with a surprising maturity and grace. Barry is an obsessive man who watches the world pass him by as he turns inward, collecting Healthy Choice pudding (for the airline miles) and wearing a bright blue suit. When he meets Lena Leonard (Watson), his life veers off its nowhere course. Anderson’s offbeat narrative style and his own obsession with Technicolor (especially bright blues and reds, all splendidly photographed by Robert Elswit) combine for a fresh, fabulously told story that will make you as uncomfortable as it makes you thrilled and fulfilled; the rather unique film earned Anderson (There Will Be Blood, The Master) the Best Director award at Cannes. The cast also features Mary Lynn Rajskub, the great Luis Guzmán, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as a crazy supervisor. Punch-Drunk Love is screening August 23 & 24 at 12 noon as part of Nitehawk Cinema’s brunch series “A Reasonable Length,” a quartet of expertly made films that each clock in at ninety minutes or less (Punch-Drunk Love is exactly an hour and a half); the series concludes August 30-31 with Edgar G. Ulmer’s sixty-seven-minute gem, Detour.
