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Shlomo Bar-Abba, Lior Ashkenazi, Alisa Rosen, Alma Zak, Daniel Markovich ... see more see more... , Yuval Scharf , Micah Lewensohn , Nevo Kimchi , Alma Zack , Albert Iluz , Shlomo Bar-Aba

Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and ha... read more read more...s never been recognized for his work. While his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition. Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son Uriel, meanwhile, is thrilled to see his father's achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father's. Will he sabotage his father's glory? -- (C) Sony Pictures Classics

Flixster Users

73% liked it

21,463 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

79 critics

PG, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Joseph Cedar

Release Date: March 9, 2012

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Stats: 82 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (82)

  • 366weirdmovies
    May 23, 2012
    366weirdmovies
    The story of two Professor Shkolniks: father Eliezer is a bitter Talmudic scholar whose life work can be reduced to one footnote in a major reference work, while son Uriel is a rising academic star who has outshone his father but remains loyal to the old man. It sounds dry, but t... read morehere's surprisingly juicy drama (and comedy) about lifelong grudges, office politics, and the complex father/son dynamic inside the professorial premise.
  • c0up
    April 22, 2012
    c0up
    'Footnote'. Pride is at the forefront of this complicated, but hilarious father-son relationship. Acting, writing, direction. Tick tick tick.
  • gator681
    April 9, 2012
    gator681
    "Footnote" starts with Professor Uriel Shkolnik(Lior Ashkenazi) being honored for his work in Talmudic research while his father, Professor Eliezer Shkolnik(Shlomo Bar-Aba), suffers through the evening in silence before declining a ride home. In fact, Eliezer is literally a foot... read morenote to history with his decades of research being pushed to the side in favor of a lucky break by a rival. But one day on his daily walk to the National Library, he is notified that he has won the prestigious Israel Prize. Everything would now be fine except for one little detail...

    "Footnote" is a wry examination of the nature of identity and how very tenuous it all is. Take for instance, Eliezer, who was robbed by fate of everything that he is and ever could be. That same potential is fully brought to fruition by his son Uriel. While his father is nothing but bitter, Uriel acts like a mensch throughout.(I have heard of daddy issues but kiddy issues?) It might come as a surprise that something as petty as a prize could change everything, including their interactions with security personnel, but in their insular world, this is huge.(Uriel's losing/having his clothes stolen in the locker room could also be part of this world shift.) So, while the movie fares well intellectually in its Introduction/Conflict/Resolution structure and a sudden ending that actually comes at just the right place, it does not connect as well on an emotional level.

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Critic Reviews

Tom Long
April 13, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

"Footnote" deals with ambition, isolation, the dangers of too much success and the inevitable gap between generations. Full Review

David Denby
April 10, 2012
David Denby, New Yorker

Footnote requires little knowledge of Judaism and its texts. Rather, it's about the complications of love, guilt, and rage. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
April 6, 2012
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Israeli writer-director Joseph Cedar's tale of two Talmudic scholars set in present-day Jerusalem, while not exactly side-splitting, is quietly riotous. And, yes, the guffaws are bittersweet. Full Review

Rafer Guzman
March 30, 2012
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

A droll, deadpan satire of the professional contempt and personal rancor that breeds in any narrow field. Full Review

Steven Rea
March 30, 2012
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Footnote is a film about the nature of truth, about sacrifice, hubris, hypocrisy. It's nothing short of brilliant. Full Review

Chris Vognar
March 29, 2012
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

It speaks to anyone who's been on either end of a grudge or family antagonism. And it saves its best for those who have witnessed clusters of the best and brightest descend to the level of grade schoo... Full Review

Rick Groen
March 23, 2012
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

It's a wryly observed little picture that plays like an anecdote deliberately separated from some larger text that's hinted at yet never fully divulged. Full Review

Stephanie Merry
March 23, 2012
Stephanie Merry, Washington Post

It's not easy to make Eliezer a sympathetic character, yet Bar-Aba's demonstration of fleeting vulnerability awakens inevitable, if equally brief, compassion. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
March 22, 2012
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle

Its energy and eccentricity assert themselves in funky graphics, imaginative camerawork and everyday moments of awkwardness and absurdity. Full Review

Wesley Morris
March 22, 2012
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

The film was a nominee for this year's foreign-language Oscar, and Cedar has a real grasp of how to create conflict and generate tension. Full Review

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    • Eliezer Shkolnik: There are things more important than the truth.
    • Uriel Shkolnik: It will kill him.
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