Between the Temples (Jason Schwartzman, REVIEW) | Projector Shorts | Love it or hate it, it's all kosher
Jason Schwartzman's cantor is struggling with his faith when he's called upon to give his old music teacher a bat mitzvah, in this eccentric, franticly awkward comedy that you'll either love or hate with no middle ground.
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00:00Jason Schwartzman is having trouble keeping the faith in Nathan Silvers between the temples.
00:04Schwartzman is a cantor who's unable to sing after the death of his wife when he reconnects
00:08with his childhood music teacher Carol Kane, who wants him to perform a bar mitzvah for her.
00:13The film is in a near constant state of high anxiety. Shot on grainy 16mm film,
00:18the camera is often very tight on the actor's faces, as well as handheld and zooming around,
00:23and there's some deliberately jarring editing that puts you in the discomfort of the main character.
00:28You'll either find this intentionally overbearing star to be off-putting and distracting,
00:32or you'll vibe with it, like I did, thankfully, most of the time. I found it complemented the
00:37film's awkward, erratic, sometimes surreal sense of humour. The film plays like an unusual
00:43combination of the graduate, curb your enthusiasm, and the opening act of Bo is Afraid.
00:49But for me, the highlight of the movie was Carol Kane, who perfectly encapsulates its zany,
00:53eccentric sensibilities, but also has a wounded sweetness underneath.