Footnote

An Israeli film about Talmud scholars—just what everyone is looking for in a movie night, right? Footnote is just that, a Hebrew movie (with subtitles of course) about the cramped, competitive world of Talmudic studies. But really it’s a family story. Eliezer has been conducting laborious research all of his life, but acclaim has passed him by. Meanwhile, his son Uriel is rising up the academic ranks, garnering honors and benefits his father could only dream of. The difference in their personalities has always rankled; a new twist in their careers strains the relationship further. This creative movie is quietly humorous in its send-up of academia, but painfully serious in its portrayal of the father-son relationship. Movie lovers will find plenty to talk about if they watch carefully. Now on DVD and Blu-ray. (Sony Classics)