Hofshat Kaits (My Father My Lord) poster & wallpaper
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Assi Dayan, Sharon Hacochen Bar, Elan Griff, Nitsam Bar, Ilan Griff ... see more see more... , Sharon Hacohen , Michal Rubin

Israeli director David Volach's chamber drama My Father, My Lord (aka Hofshat Kaits, 2006) provides an intense character study of a rabbi in an Orthodox neighborhood, whose letter-of-the-law applicati... read more read more...on of Talmudic tenets takes an exacting toll on his life. He must thus grapple with the conflicting demands of his belief system and his familial obligations to his wife and child. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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70% liked it

1,378 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

37 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 14 min.

Directed by: David Volach

Release Date: July 11, 2008

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DVD Release Date: December 2, 2008

Stats: 38 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (38)

  • gator681
    May 24, 2008
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "My Father My Lord," Menachem(Ilan Griff) is your typical child with an innate curiosity at the world around him while attending Torah school and looking forward to a visit to the Dead Sea. He is doted on by his mother, Esther(Sharon Hacohen Bar), while h... read moreis father, Abraham(Assi Dayan), a rabbi and Talmudic scholar, who while busy with his studies, does not mind that his son is present as he falls asleep from the boredom. Abraham's beliefs have evolved over time into inflexible dogma which rules over every moment of his family's lives. And that is the kind of behavior that the movie is out to critique which I have no problem with.(Along the same lines, some people should not have kids, no matter how encouraged they may be to do so.) It is with the approach that is definitely shaky because there are some things that should never be wished on anybody just to make a point. In this case, it does not make much difference whether it comes from god or the director, because they are the same person as far as these characters are concerned. This might explain why he is so found of complicated overhead shots which unnecessarily cloud the climax of the film.[/font]
  • kylegarvey6
    October 14, 2011
    kylegarvey6
    Plaintive violins married with hysterically wheedling (contra-?) religious bullpucky. There's some nice Israeli verisimilitude, but when the story isn't splashing its themes at you (Orthodoxy! Oedipal anxiety! Mild oppression! The crush of grief!) it's just falling into some thou... read moreghtless, tepid bath in them.

View All Hofshat Kaits (My Father My Lord) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Andrea Gronvall
August 1, 2008
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

Volach doesn't waste a word or action in his spare, finely crafted screenplay. Full Review

Tasha Robinson
July 24, 2008
Tasha Robinson, Chicago Tribune

[Director David] Volach makes every moment count by holding tight close-ups on the faces of his extraordinarily tender, expressive cast, framing them with an elegant beauty.

Walter V. Addiego
July 11, 2008
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

It's an affecting portrait of family life that gives way to a profound depiction of faith shaken to its roots. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
July 11, 2008
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

My Father My Lord is an impressive first feature that stands out for its emotional qualities, its ambition and its brevity. In this day of endless epics, this 73-minute Israeli film manages to do a lo... Full Review

Ty Burr
June 27, 2008
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

David Volach has created a drama that, in retrospect, feels positively biblical. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
May 16, 2008
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

A boy questions his father's devout life and teachings. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
May 16, 2008
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

My Father My Lord lasts just 73 minutes, and I spent the first hour or so wondering what the director-writer, David Volach, was getting at in his nearly plotless feature debut. Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 16, 2008
Stephen Holden, New York Times

My Father My Lord has the glowing simplicity and force of a biblical parable. Full Review

John Anderson
May 15, 2008
John Anderson, Newsday

A beautifully made film, one that possesses a troubling visual sense of spiritual corruption. Full Review

Ronnie Scheib
June 16, 2007
Ronnie Scheib, Variety

[An] extraordinary 74-minute tone poem. Full Review

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