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Footnote

Name: Footnote
Genre: Drama
Released: March 9, 2012
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Aliza Rosen, Lior Ashkenazi, Shlomo Bar-Aba

2012

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 27 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Ratings

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6.2

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6.2	Your Score
6.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Ratings

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FOOTNOTE

Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: March 9, 2012 | PG

Starring: Aliza Rosen, Lior Ashkenazi, Shlomo Bar-Aba

Summary: Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. Meanwhile his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades,Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. Meanwhile his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition. Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son, Uriel, is thrilled to see his father's achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father's. Will he sabotage his father's glory? (Sony Pictures Classics)
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Director: Joseph Cedar

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: PG

Runtime: 103 min

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Awards & Rankings

25	#25 Best Movie of 2012

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

David Denby

Apr 9, 2012

Nothing has exploded on the screen in recent years as violently as that mad quarrel in a tiny room - a room that is Israel itself. [16 April 2012, p.86]

100

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Mar 7, 2012

Footnote is itself a perfect little piece of Talmud, full of text, commentary, and colorful argument. Read full review

Andrew O'Hehir

Mar 10, 2012

Footnote has two of the best performances I've seen in world cinema over the past year: One from Shlomo Bar Aba (apparently best known in Israel as a stand-up comic and stage actor), playing the aging, bitter philologist Eliezer Shkolnik, and the other from Lior Ashkenazi, one of the country's best known movie stars, as his son and rival, Uriel. Read full review

Joshua Rothkopf

Mar 6, 2012

Cedar's idiosyncratically brilliant script also has a moral question at its heart: Is lying to spare someone's feelings ever justified? Surely the Talmud has a thing or two to say about that. Read full review

Stephanie Merry

Mar 23, 2012

Most footnotes don't get a passing glance, but this one proves worthy of careful study. Read full review

Alison Willmore

Mar 7, 2012

The love, jealousy, and stubborn pride of the relationship between Ashkenazi and Bar-Aba is the heart of the film, and that makes the deliberately uncertain note of the ending particularly frustrating. Read full review

Andrew Schenker

Mar 4, 2012

Joseph Cedar's Footnote is a sour, rather unpleasant affair that hinges on acts of Jews behaving badly. Read full review

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User Reviews

amboy

Apr 22, 2012

A brilliant film. Academic infighting provides the comedy, and father-son relationship provides the pathos. Not for anyone who does not know what "philology" is, but for audiences that lament the absence of intelligent films, this is a must.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

kcunning

Apr 21, 2012

This is an intense (& sometimes funny) story about scholarship and competition between a father & son researching & writing in the same academic field The academic tensions & jargon are enough to warrant a trip to the theater, but the complex family relationships give the film just theThis is an intense (& sometimes funny) story about scholarship and competition between a father & son researching & writing in the same academic field The academic tensions & jargon are enough to warrant a trip to the theater, but the complex family relationships give the film just the right amount of emotional content. Scholarship is shown as active, intellectual work, & I've never seen the painful act of writing & striving for just the right word depicted as well. The rivalries & betrayals that academia engenders are violent in their passionate intensity. I'm looking forward to more films by Joseph Cedar.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TheDRauch

Dec 12, 2012

An impeccably written character study from Israel that is at times exhilarating, angry, passionate, funny, provocative, and is never less than absolutely absorbing. The writing, first of all, is due the most praise. It is so focused and attuned to the tone of the story that I instantly knewAn impeccably written character study from Israel that is at times exhilarating, angry, passionate, funny, provocative, and is never less than absolutely absorbing. The writing, first of all, is due the most praise. It is so focused and attuned to the tone of the story that I instantly knew these two men. I was never left scratching my head at any point, lost in all of the talk of Talmud scholarship. The acting is amazingly restrained. The two actors who play father and son, competing in the same, very small field, are astounding. I feel as though they have lived these lives and completely understand the relationship they have and only through their eyes. I would only dismiss … Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

RobertBrogan

Sep 30, 2015

Footnote is a very engaging film with strong acting, storytelling, and cinematography. The culture and setting of Israel are interesting as well and add to the film's depth. The strong negative reviews are surprising, though the film is mislabeled as a 'comedy' when it is a family/politicalFootnote is a very engaging film with strong acting, storytelling, and cinematography. The culture and setting of Israel are interesting as well and add to the film's depth. The strong negative reviews are surprising, though the film is mislabeled as a 'comedy' when it is a family/political drama. I go the other way and highly recommend it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Lyn

Oct 7, 2014

This tense but at times funny film takes father-son tension to a place we haven't really seen before -- the Talmud runs through it. Not a single character is wholly sympathetic, which makes the drama brave and engrossing. It is wrenching to see the son's fierce defense of his father -- in aThis tense but at times funny film takes father-son tension to a place we haven't really seen before -- the Talmud runs through it. Not a single character is wholly sympathetic, which makes the drama brave and engrossing. It is wrenching to see the son's fierce defense of his father -- in a tiny room crowded with academic egos -- and wonder not only whether he'll ever receive anything back, but whether he'll be able to do better with his own son. The action slows down and I did wish for a bit of resolution that never quite came.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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