Rashevski's Tango Reviews (2 of 2)

Boston Globe

Published Thursday, June 16, 2005
by Wesley Morris

TANGO' TAKES SUBTLE LOOK AT IDENTITY

Sam Garbarski's family dramedy "The Rashevski's Tango" wonders, without much noise or hand-wringing, what on earth it really means to be Jewish. The movie doesn't presume to know the answer (is there one?), but it is seriously made and sincere enough to assemble a gallery of affecting characters who grow increasingly at ease with themselves.

The Rashevskis are a modern diasporic clan settled in a Belgium that's gone secular, much to the dismay of one of its senior members, Sammy (Moscou Alcalay), an Orthodox rabbi in Israel, who, out of disapproval, has estranged himself. His exceedingly dapper brother, Dolfo (Nathan Cogan), tries to reach out to Sammy on behalf of his sister-in-law and Sammy's late wife, Rosa. She was the secular force holding the Rashevskis together, and without her guidance the children and grandkids turn questioning and uncertain: Who are we as a family, as individuals, as Jews? After Rosa's funeral, her two sons, Simon (Michel Jonasz) and David (Daniel Mesguich), discuss how their mother's death makes them feel more Jewish. They recall that after their father left, ending up in Israel, their mother gave them the gift of the tango, which she promised would allow the boys to dance their troubles away in some fashion.t Nina might have to convert, too. Her mother is not a Jew, but she's gotten quite skilled at telling everybody how to behave like a more traditional one.

Sam Garbarski wrote "The Rashevski's Tango" with Philippe Blasband, and the movie, which plays at the Museum of Fine Arts as part of the Boston Jewish Film Festival's Encores and More series, is well attuned to its characters' individual worries while keeping the Rashevski family dynamic believable.

Jonasz's work as Simon is especially subtle. The character feels and senses everything and responds in discreet but significant ways. When Isabelle offends Dolfo, it's after she and Simon have had disagreements, but he stands comfortingly by her side once Dolfo has lashed out.

The strength of "The Rashevski's Tango" rests with David's young son, Ric (Rudi Rosenberg). He was a soldier in the Israeli Army, is completely comfortable with himself as a Jew, and is romantically involved with Kadijah (Selma Kouchy), a Muslim Arab. The movie is neither big enough nor deep enough to make their love seem more than politically freighted. (The film easily could have been a terrific hours-long saga.) Still, as emblematic as their bond is, Ric and Kadijah have more to say about the future of Judeo-Arab cultural identity than anyone else in the movie. The dance they'll have to do is much more complicated than Rosa's tango.