(No ‘spoilers’ in the following)

I was glad the Iranian film A Separation (see earlier mini review here) won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, at least until I saw the Israeli film Footnote.

Now I’m a bit more conflicted.

Footnote opens in NY, and probably LA, Friday, and I hope it will be around long enough for folks to find it and see it.

Without giving anything away, as the less you know before you see this film the better, I think, the film is about a complicated relationship and rivalry between a father and a son (and to a lesser degree, a grandson).

In addition to being nominated for the Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, Footnote has won a host of awards, including The Best Screenplay Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and numerous 2011 Ophir Awards, Israeli’s equivalent to the Oscars.

There are many good things about this film, including the story, the acting, the subplots, the humor, the sadness, and ultimately the choices that each of the main characters has to make, that I hope you will get a chance to see it. And perhaps we can then talk or write about it without spoiling it for others.

I rarely see a movie twice, but I think I will see both of these again.

PS — Any one interested in an evening at the Millers’ house for a discussion of A Separation and Footnote (and perhaps our own vote about which film deserves the award for Best Foreign Film)? I might even be convinced or willing to practice what I am learning in my Indian cooking classes as an accompaniment to the evening. Let me know if you’re interested.

PPS – Our movie club (where we saw Footnote) gave a positive rating (excellent or good) of 84.7% to The Hunter, mini-reviewed Here.

Further Note: Mar. 9: A.O. Scott reviewed Footnote today in the NY Times
(calling it “a wonderful new film”) as it opened today in NYC. You can read his review Here. It gives more of the story line than I did above, but I don’t think it gives away too much. Scott’s review might make a bit more sense after you have seen the film, however.

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