Movie Review: The Golem (2018)

The Golem (2018) directed by Yoav and Doron Paz

In seventeenth century Lithuania, Hannah lives a small Jewish village. She is beset with problems. Seven years early, she lost her son. She's grieved for him and refused to have another child. Her husband is unhappy. He's the son of the town's rabbi. He goes for lessons with other men from the village. Hannah listens in from underneath the building; her husband sneaks books away for her to read. Hannah's sister is getting married but the ceremony is interrupted by a ruthless gentile who brings his plague-striken daughter to be cured. Without a cure, he'll destroy the town. The local healer promises to do her best. The rabbi recommends not striking back at the gentiles. Hannah has other ideas. In Kabbalistic texts (like the ones "borrowed" from the rabbi), a formula is given for creating a being out of clay that will protect its master. Hannah's chance to get her son back (sort of) and to defend the village is at hand. Of course, things don't go exactly according to plan.

Hannah is a very complicated character, eliciting both sympathy and revulsion as she makes her choices throughout the story. Other characters are less developed. The villain is little more than a bad guy (he does have a creepy bird-beak mask like the plague doctors used to wear) and just creates peril for the village. The healer once confronted a golem in her childhood (which we see at the beginning of the movie), though her experience doesn't really contribute to the situation. The husband is interesting as he is flawfully supportive of his wife and also frustrated with her. The tension between them is subtle and well developed. The boy who played the golem did a good job which is critical for the film. He doesn't talk and he has little emotional expression (like a golem). He's got enough intensity to give the movie the edge it doesn't have in other departments.

The story is fairly standard. No huge surprises happen. The backstory is told at a good pace. I found the characters a little less sympathetic than they should be, making me less engaged in the story. It wasn't bad and it wasn't great.

Slightly recommended.