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| My Mexican Shivah |
According to Jewish folklore, a Jew is accompanied from birth by the angels of light and darkness.
When beloved patriarch Moishe Tartakovsky dies unexpectedly, these divine accountants must calculate his soul's direction into the afterlife by eavesdropping on the mourners gathered in a Mexico City apartment for his shivah (the prescribed seven-day mourning period). However, Moishe's eternal rest might be in jeopardy.
Those sitting shivah include his vain daughter, bankrupt son, newly-Orthodox and wayward grandson, Catholic ex-lover and, perhaps best of all, two mysterious elderly Yiddish-speaking bystanders - Aleph and Bet - who diligently argue the merits and demerits of Moishe's life, which they record in a celestial ledger!
Based on a story by Mexican-Jewish writer Ilan Stavans, and set entirely in Mexico City's small but vibrant Jewish Community (in a city of 18 million, there are fewer than 20,000 Jews), this black comedy was produced by John Sayles (Matewan and Sunshine State) and features a wonderful original score by The Klezmatics. My Mexican Shivah is an affectionate and tearful party that's hard to leave.
Opening Night film at the New York Jewish Film Festival.
