Tango Shalom

Years ago-- I'm not sure the word "crowdfunding" had been invented yet-- I saw a rough clip on the web with an actor playing a bearded Jew who is inspired to dance the tango and asks "Am I going meshuggah?" Yes, it's amateurish, the web message said, but we're just presenting the idea and we hope people will help us get the movie made. It's a stupid idea, I thought, and the representation of Jewish culture seems pretty flimsy.

And I forgot all about it till the finished movie popped up on TV all these years later. It's still a stupid idea, unfortunately, and the representation of Jewish culture still seems pretty flimsy. So many filmed stories about strongly Orthodox Jews suffer from the same problem-- they can't include your standard Hollywood interactions between men and women without veering way outside the realm of credibility. Nonetheless, while this movie may not deserve any first, second, or third prize, or honorable mention, it does deserve a special new award for getting a preposterous idea onto the screen against all odds. And even recruiting some respected actors.

If you look Massimo Zeri up on IMDB you will see he worked with Fellini, Mazursky, and Merchant Ivory! His lighting of the different houses of worship in Tango Shalom highlighted such diverse iconography, showing off how each culture is a world unto its own! The elements of wood, single-source lighting, and rich, old-world traditions in the synagogue, to the vibrant colors in the Sikh temple, to the gold patina in the mosque, to the kaleidoscopic light in the stain-glassed church, Mr. Zeri took us on a cinematic odyssey! A a blazing display of bravura!

Bravissimo!

Tango Shalom is a terrific and fun film! I enjoyed the story about a man who has to overcome the limits of his faith in order to enter a dance contest. The cast is first rate with both well-known actors and fresh faces. It's an uplifting and inspiring tale that is suitable for the entire family! Plus the dancing is superb! Go see it!

This was pitched as a comedy about a rabbi trying to navigate Argentine tango dancing while adhering to his religious tenets. It's ... not that. There's hardly any dancing, the movie dwells on excessive and unnecessary B-roll footage when time could be spent on better script writing and character development. The film tries to make a bigger point about religious pluralism, but ends up whiffing given that the script writer probably spent 20 minutes on Wikipedia looking up the traditions of each faith. The lack of depth absolutely shows, and the filmmakers try to patch over it by providing elaborate shots of religious ceremonies.

The acting quality wavered from Hallmark movie to high school production - and I'm not even referring to the kids (who were fine). The jokes were dragged out, intolerably so.

So that this isn't a completely negative review, a couple of standouts from this otherwise. I thought Judi Beecher as Raquel, Moshe's wife, acted well, given the material that she had. Her character was the only one with any sort of depth. Karina Smirnoff was also in her element in the dance scenes, although her character suffered from lack of proper development.

This film had a lot of promise but missed the mark completely.

A great family film that anyone can enjoy! It's a comedy yet still takes you on a religious/ faith journey that anyone can easily relate to. Must See!