Monsieur Zucker joue son va-tout

There's been a media buzz surrounding this movie since its release in Germany. It is a bittersweet satirical comedy on the relationship between Jewish and non-Jewish Germans, making it - to my knowledge - the first movie of its kind and utterly successful.

Since the Shoah, there has been a perception among the majority of non-Jewish Germans that Jewish people in this country have to be treated with velvet gloves in every respect. This perception is strengthened further by the fact that due to the small number of Jewish communities in Germany, many non-Jewish Germans don't know Jewish people personally, thus creating an abstract image of easily offended Jews who have to be treated with utmost political correctness.

This movie by Dani Levy puts things into perspective again, demonstrating that despite the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany against the Jewish population, one nowadays is allowed to laugh about curiosities caused by Jewish rituals like problems in keeping the household going during Shabbat or about other Jewish/non-Jewish incompatibilities without breaking a taboo. Both Jewish and non-Jewish stereotypes are equally poked fun at in this movie, and with its intentional and charming political incorrectness and spot-on irony on this complex and sensitive matter, it is hilariously funny and an absolute must-see! I am convinced that this movie will help bring relations of Jewish/non-Jewish Germans to a more normal, more natural level, based on more mutual understanding. But even for those not looking so much for a movie with a message, but rather for an evening highlight of clever entertainment and big laughter, this is an ideal choice!

9/10

A pretty good, though not outstanding comedy with a pretty amazing premise. A Jewish mother dies, leaving a will that will only be decided if she's given a proper Jewish burial, and if her two sons would bury the hatchet. The problem is, is that one of her sons is totally Orthodox Jewish, and the other one is definitely not. BUT WE'LL TRY! Oh right, the unorthodox guy has an important pool tournament that takes place smack in the middle of the Jewish observance of his Mom's death. Plenty of other problems raise their head, and most of it is quite funny. The script though, does lose steam about 3/4 of the way through, but this made me laugh at the right places,

Lighten up. It's a movie. It's not real life. Enjoy it for what it is. I laughed out loud in the theater continually. These are romantic movie characters. My belief was definitely suspended. i recommend this movie to others constantly as one of the best I've seen this year. Reality TV is no more real than these characters. It's refreshing to finally see a German comedy rather than the pap that the American cinema churns out. There are many twists in this movie that will add levity to your day. Go Go Go And take someone with you. Germany has become so strict and gloomy in the world's eye that it's great they can cross boundaries that many are scared to talk about. C'mon we're all people. We all have beliefs. We should be able to laugh at ourselves and certainly have to ability to see the human in this mortal existence.

There are two big divides in the family that this film centers on, and these are the premises of what could have been a very fun and touching movie at the same time, with a political and human message not to be missed. It's about Jewish family led two brothers, where one side are orthodox and observant Jews, while the other side are completely agnostic, actually involved in mixed marriage between a Jewish man and a non-Jewish woman which would make the children non-Jewish according to Jewish faith. The other divide is the Berlin wall and the division of Germany during the cold war which makes the observant family leave in the prosperous West, while the other half of the family leaves in the East. Not that the Eastern European brother lacks success and charisma, he is actually the more interesting character of the two, a former TV sports reporter dealing with a small prostitution business and a champ in billiards, but who finds himself in dire straits because of gambling and debts. Ten or fifteen years after the fall of the wall, when reunions are possible the mother of the two dies and in her the testament she asks for a traditional burial followed by the one week shiva mourning period, and a true reconciliation as a precondition for inheriting.

There are two ways to approach making such a movie. Rely on character comics, but here you need to be quite careful as a movie dealing with Jewish characters risks to be considered as too offensive if they pedal too much on this line. Although a lot of stereotypes are present I did not find them offensive at all (yes, I am Jewish), actually it's more the gay and sexual allusions that some may find more visible and doubt there good taste. The other approach would be to deal more with the political theme, but here the film is just a pale social commentary, and it never gets even close to the subtlety and human dimension of a film like 'Good-bye, Lenin'.

Unfortunately by choosing the middle of the road the director condemned the film to mediocrity, and instead of good laughs it's mostly polite smiles all along. It's not that good comedy scenes are completely missing, but I could not escape the feeling that the premises of the movie are better than the outcome, and that if the authors had chosen a more definite line, or just dared to be more crazy the result would have been better.

This movie is really great. I fully enjoyed it and it was fun and gives you an idea of what the Jewsish community would have added to German society if they would not have been killed during the Holocaust. This is a sad thing and I say that as a German. I love to see what light hearted story Dani Levy made and it's really excellent actresses and actors. This movie is entertaining, easy to watch but has it's twists. Personally I really admire the screenplay of the actresses and actord -it is really wonderful and sets up a 'believable' environment for the movie. The fight between the brothers is also very noticeable.