THREE MOVIES TO CHECK OUT AT THE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL THIS WEEK

Suskind

Director Rudolph van den Berg brings you the true World War II story with his film, “Suskind.”

The setting is Amsterdam in the summer of 1942.  Walter Suskind (Jeroen Spitzenberger) is fortunate enough to have found a job with the Jewish Council, a position that offers him and his family protection from being deported to Germany.  One night, Walter witnesses the arrest of a Jewish family, but sees that the couple’s children, Roosje and Simon, have managed to escape.  The chances of the two children surviving in this occupied city are slim, and it’s Suskind’s task to arrange for the detainees to be sent over to work in Germany.  When he discovers what dangers are awaiting the Jews, he decides to double-cross the Germans.

To do so, he befriends a high-ranking SS officer, Aus der Funten (Karl Markovics), while also cooperating with the underground movement. With other conspirators, Suskind hatches cunning methods to help save as many children as he can from certain death.  Suskind and his family soon become endangered when Aus der Funten starts to suspect that Walter might not be as trustworthy as he seems.

“Suskind” will have its New York State premiere on Thursday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the AMC Palisades Theaters, as part of the 11th JCC Rockland International Jewish Film Festival.  Purchasing tickets in advance saves $2.00, so go to jccrockland.org or call 845-362-4400 x 100.

Glickman

Directed by James L. Freedman, “Glickman” is the triumphant story of Marty Glickman, a record-setting Jewish sprinter who, on the day of his race at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, was dropped from America’s relay team to appease Adolf Hitler. Marty went on to become a beloved sports announcer in New York as he revolutionized sports broadcasting by inventing such classic basketball terms as “swish!” In a Hall of Fame career that spanned over 50 years, Marty would paint his “words eye” pictures as the first voice of the NBA and for the New York Knicks, Giants and Jets, as well as create HBO Sports and mentor a Who’s Who of sportscasters.  The documentary is a testament to a man who overcame racism and prejudice and whose life embodied the joy of sports.

The film includes interviews with Marv Albert, Bill Bradley, Mike Breen, Jim Brown, Bob Costas, Frank Gifford, Elliott Gould, Larry King, Oscar Robertson, Charley Steiner, David Stern, Jerry Stiller, Lou Zamperini and the filmmaker’s father, Herb Freedman, who helped him get his first job working for Marty.

“He literally revolutionized sports broadcasting,” said James L. Freedman.  “He of course, was a wonderful, wonderful play-by-play radio football broadcaster for the New York Giants, and later the New York Jets. What people don’t really remember today in this day and age of ESPN and highlights and television, that back then, unless you had a ticket to Yankee stadium, you didn’t see the New York Giants. The games were blacked out.  They were afraid no one would come. So, the only way to see a game, for everyone but 50,000 New York fans, was to hear it through Marty’s voice, and it got to the point where, even in the stadium, you would have everyone listening to the radio.  It was almost as if they didn’t believe their eyes until Marty told them what they saw.”

“Glickman” will have its Rockland premiere on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the AMC Palisades Theaters, as part of the 11th JCC Rockland International Jewish Film Festival.  Purchasing tickets in advance saves $2.00, so go tojccrockland.org or call 845-362-4400 x 100.

For a Woman

Directed by Diane Kurys, “For a Woman” is a multi-generational epic that tracks the legacy of a Ukrainian-Jewish family living in France, from the Second World War to the end of the century.

Anne (Sylvie Testud) has a very active imagination, which is only natural for a writer.  Despite being in her mid-thirties, however, she still doesn’t know anything of her own family’s past. After her mother’s death, Anne discovers old photos and letters that convince her to take a closer look at the life of her parents, Michael and Léna. The young couple met in the concentration camps during World War II, and later moved to France to start their new life together.

Soon, Anne’s research into their Jewish history and their ties to Lyon’s communist party reveals the existence of a mysterious uncle, Jean, whom everyone seems intent on forgetting entirely.  As she gradually closes in on the discovery she didn’t know she was looking for, her father grows more ill, and may take the secret that kept them apart for so long to his grave.  In a journey that stretches from post-war France to the 1980s, Anne’s destiny intertwines with her father’s past until they form a single, unforgettable story.

“For a Woman” will have its Rockland premiere on Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the AMC Palisades Theaters, as part of the 11th JCC Rockland International Jewish Film Festival. Purchasing tickets in advance saves $2.00, so go to jccrockland.org or call 845-362-4400 x 100.