Three new film commentaries are up this week! All are in the “oldies but goodies” category, and all three are not only interesting for their Jewish content, but they are films which are significant in the development of film.
The Dybbuk (1937) is the most famous Yiddish film ever made, filmed in Warsaw and in rural Poland just before Yiddish civilization was destroyed by the Nazis. It is a ghost story filmed in a time and place that were about to disappear, made by actors who would either be scattered to the four corners of the world or who would themselves disappear. It is also a surprisingly powerful film even today.
The Golem (1920) was made seventeen years earlier, and is also a fantastic tale based on Jewish folklore. It is a German film, however, and makes a different use of its folkloric sources. It makes an interesting “compare and contrast” exercise with the previous film, for reasons I go into in the commentary on the film. There is a lively disagreement among academics as to whether this film is anti-Semitic or not: check it out and see what you think.
Body and Soul (1947) is a gritty, hard-hitting film, as realistic as the previous two films are dreamy. Still, it is a film about a kind of demonic possession, not unlike The Dybbuk: this is a story about a man possessed by the desire for money and success. And it is also a film about a big, strong Jewish fighter, who in the end is not nearly as controllable as his master believes, a major element in The Golem. Critics call it the quintessential boxing film, which has echoed in every great boxing film since.
