A Life Apart – Hasidism in America
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: B
A few years ago, a full-length film about the building of
the Hasidic Jewish community was made. A
Life Apart (1997) does an incredible job chronicling the way in which
Hasidic Jews emigrated from Europe and were the only of many great ethnic
groups to literally rebuild their nearly-lost culture in the United States in a
spiritual brick-by-brick fashion, reestablishing the entire school of thought
and practice uncompromised. When the
society was telling them to assimilate, they found a way to co-exist on their
own terms.
Of course, it is the greatest triumph of all, overcoming
the Final Solution on their terms 100%, so it is not a slight against the U.S.
or any of its current residents. This
film simply and eloquently shows that operation and on first viewing, you will
see why this offered a community of history, culture, and faith Hitler knew he
had to get rid of for him to go unchallenged as the genocidal menace he
became. Whether you believe in this
form of faith (if any), or not, you have to appreciate the beauty and
accomplishment of a following that helped build the world we know today. I do not agree with some of the ways I
observed, and others of the actual faith who left this version of it are
interviewed throughout.
The producing/directing team of Menachem Daum and Oren
Rudavsky have crafted a well informed and remarkably enduring film that is now
more valuable than ever. The unlikely
but effective pair of Leonard Nimoy and Sarah Jessica Parker co-deliver the
voiceover narration here, while the interviews and comments picked weave a
vivid portrait that shows us something really special about a way of life that
still survives today. It also manages
to remind the viewer of all the great culture gone, somewhat by choice, in this
country, especially against one that was almost viciously and brutally wiped
out. That is why this is a film
everyone needs to check out.
The full-screen, color image comes from an above-average
transfer of the nicely filmed material.
Often, there is so much to see that this would have never worked as well
on any video format, then or now. The
camera and editing always make you feel like you are there, in the moment,
learning about the heart of the matter.
That keeps you watching, even when the transfer is a tad dated.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is about as good as it is
going to get. Though the spoken
interviews work out, the music has unnecessary distortion in what is the one
technical error of the film. The
theatrical sound format used is the ever-dreadful Ultra Stereo. This was a cheap version of old Dolby-A
analog noise reduction with monophonic surrounds. The distortion is unfortunate and this Dolby version on the DVD does
not even offer surrounds when decoded in Pro Logic. Maybe going back to the original sound masters, which hopefully
still exist, would be nice to do down the line for a digital theatrical
reissue. This will pass for its DVD
release.
Extras include the co-producer/director’s audio commentary
track, their biographies, and an interview with the New York PBS affiliate made
at the time of the film’s theatrical release.
There could have been some kind of update added, but this is still a
nice plus. The important thing here is
the main program, and down the line, it may finally be recognized as a classic
for what it says about religion, culture, survival, and the United States, all
of which is good for a change.
- Nicholas Sheffo
