Who among us isn't familiar with this scene from Shabbat or holiday meals, the pre-fast meal or the Seder night? The entire family gathers to eat and share experiences, but between the hummus, gefilte fish and the glass of kosher wine for Kiddush, tensions often spill over. Instead of plates and silverware, secrets, lies and conflicts are laid out on the table. This is how it is for us Jews—festive events often end in drama, sometimes even in arguments.
And so it is on screen as well. Many films identified as Jewish—a genre in its own right in the United States—explore these tensions between the father, the grandmother, the aunt visiting from afar, the mischievous grandchild and his non-Jewish girlfriend. And that's even before mentioning the mother, who no matter who her son brings home, will never consider her good enough.
4 View gallery Kyra Sedgwick ( Photo: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP ) These characteristics, almost as if scripted in the Talmud, often find their way into stories about Jewish families, as is the case with the film Bad Shabbos. However, in this American comedy, which won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, there are additional unexpected elements, including a corpse, Christian guests from the Midwest and even a black man who saves the day. The plot of Bad Shabbos, co-written by director Daniel Robbins and his writing partner Zach Weiner, unfolds over the course of a few hours during a Shabbat meal, with its surprising twists sharp.