Category Archives: Drama

World War Z (2013) directed by Marc Foster

Posted on July 28, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

world war z posterAs a child, my mother took me to see the movie Phantom of the Opera starring Claude Rains. There is a scary scene when a bottle of acid is thrown disfiguring a man forever. For many months afterward, I had nightmares. From that time on, seeing horror movies of any kind did not appeal to me and I rarely saw one. So it was with some reluctance that I went to see World War Z, a thriller about a zombie apocalypse threatening to take over the world.

The film opens with images of a happy family about to spend time together renewing and strengthening family ties. As they drive through stalled downtown Philadelphia traffic, however, the unexpected happens. A former UN employee, Gerry Lane, and his family are attacked by hordes of zombies along with countless others. The Lanes escape to a deserted apartment, where they are extracted by a helicopter sent by Gerry’s former UN colleague. They are then taken to a US Naval ship, where militarily analysts and scientific personnel are trying to determine the scope of this worldwide plague.

Dr. Andrew Fassbach, a virologist, is sent to a military base in South Korea to investigate the source of the virus along with Gerry, a veteran UN investigator, who is charged with facilitating the work of Dr. Fassbach. But then tragedy strikes. Fassbach is killed when he accidently discharges his gun amidst a zombie attack, and the investigating team is left without a scientist who can analyze the remains of those who have been killed by the zombies. At this moment, all seems lost. How can the problem be solved if there is no one to define the problem?

The Ethics of the Fathers says that in a place where there is no man, we have to step up to the plate and be the man. This is what Gerry does. When Fassbach dies, Gerry does not abort the mission. He does not make excuses. He understands what is at stake and continues on his search to investigate the source of the plague.

His search takes him from Korea to Jerusalem where he picks up more evidence and some helpful wisdom. Gerry learns that the Israelis had an early indication of the zombie menace and were able to use a barrier wall against terrorists as a barricade against zombie penetration. A local guru tells him that the Israelis took the zombie threat seriously and did not dismiss it because of their “tenth man” theory. This theory, based upon the experience of having miscalculated the strength and strategy of the enemy in a number of military situations, says that whenever everyone is in agreement about a potential threat, we suppose that a “tenth man” sees things differently. Moreover, we presume that the alternate view is correct and we investigate it. Solving a problem becomes similar to an exercise in Talmudic logic in which all possibilities are explored.

Ultimately, Gerry finds a path towards recovery, but it is not a panacea. As he observes the positive signs of human initiatives to end the zombie invasion, he wisely says: “This isn’t the end, not even close.” However, his comment reveals a determined optimism in the face of what seemed to be total apocalypse. This ability to focus on the positive in a desperate situation is what carries him forward to another day.

The Ethics of the Fathers tells us that it is not our job to complete the task, but rather simply to begin. This is especially true if that task seems overwhelming. Rather, all we need to do is put forth our best effort since the final result is in God’s hands.

Gerry does not solve the zombie problem, but he initiates a path towards a solution. That is sometimes the best we can do in difficult situations. Begin the process and leave the outcome to God.

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), directed by John Madden

Posted on July 15, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

best exotic marigold hotel posterWhen I turned sixty, I realized that in spite of the fact that I felt at the top of my game in terms of the skill set I brought to Jewish high school education,  I was no longer perceived as such by potential employers.  They wanted younger people to assume positions as school heads. I was part of the past, not the future. This is one of the reasons why living in Israel has been exciting for me. Here I can recreate myself as a Jewish educator, not as a head of school but as a valuable piece of a larger educational entity. Here I can redefine my mission.

This is the essential narrative arc of all the characters in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, who have an emotional epiphany as they stay at a hotel “for the elderly and beautiful.”  Marigold  captures the pain of growing old, its challenges, and its possible joys if one approaches this time with a positive attitude, and focuses on what one can do, not on what one cannot do.

Old age is a time of loss but also a time of freedom and redefinition. All of the principals come to this picturesque hotel because of an attractive brochure; but, in fact, the hotel is in a state of disrepair and neglect. In a sense, the hotel is a mirror of its new guests who also are “elderly and beautiful.”

Evelyn, recently widowed, is forced to sell her home to cover her late husband’s huge debt and her vacation is a reprieve from the pressures she faces on the home front. Graham, a retired judge, has come to India to find a long lost lover. Jean and Doug come because it is an affordable vacation after giving their daughter most of their savings to start a business. Muriel, a retired housekeeper, comes because she can obtain a hip replacement in India at a fraction of the cost in England. Madge is seeking a husband, and Norman is seeking sexual adventure and companionship.

The intertwining stories, however, share a common thread: how do we come to terms with old age, with declining physical strength, and the knowledge that our life is coming to close? How do we deal with feeling marginalized or ignored?

All the characters in the story have an emotional awakening. Most are able to redefine their life. Some sadly cannot and remained paralyzed by yesterday’s perceptions. They see, as one character says, neither light nor joy and are unable to seize life’s new opportunities. There is a remarkable piece of wisdom, articulated at several points in the film, which suggests the proper approach for senior living. Sonny, the hotel manager, a young man with senior insight, offers the following perspective when things are not going well and the worst is expected: “everything will be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, then it’s not yet the end.”

This is a point of view which is expressed in the Talmud when the Sages tell us that whatever God does for us is for the good. It may not be apparent immediately because we see only a part of the picture. If we were to see everything from beginning to end, we would understand that, in the final analysis, from the aspect of eternity everything is good. A conversation between Muriel and Evelyn encapsulates this philosophy in a humorous way. Evelyn observes: “Nothing here has worked out quite as I expected,” to which Muriel responds:  “Most things don’t. But sometimes what happens instead is the good stuff.”

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel reminds us that retirement does not have to mean the end of life as we know it. It can be a time of self-evaluation, a time for redefinition, and a time for the assumption of new and worthwhile tasks. In truth, in the Bible there is no word for retirement. Abraham doesn’t retire.  He is productive until his last breath. Moses also does not retire. He is active until the final day of his life. They lead a life of purpose, in which every day has meaning. Their senior years are golden because they use them to clarify life’s goals and to implement a strategy for purposeful living.

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War of the Worlds (2005), directed by Steven Spielberg

Posted on July 10, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

war of the worlds posterDuring the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s, I was taking a philosophy course at Yeshiva University. Students felt that there was real possibility of a nuclear holocaust, and my malaise was deepened when my Philosophy professor ended his Thursday class by saying “See you on Monday if there will be a Monday.”  I remember asking one of my Judaic studies teachers what would happen to the Jewish people in such a doomsday scenario. He told me that the Jews might suffer as well as the rest of humanity; but that there would always be a remnant of the people left, for God’s covenant with the Jews was eternal and the Jews would never totally disappear from the world. The only appropriate action we could take now was to do good deeds and pray for peace.

These memories percolated in my mind as I watched War of the Worlds, a story of what might happen if a malevolent extra-terrestrial force were to target the earth for destruction. The film opens as Ray Ferrier, a divorced dad, picks up his children, Robbie and Rachel, from his ex-wife who is going on a weekend vacation with her husband.

Ray has a very small parenting tool box; and while he enjoys spending time with his kids, he has little idea of who they are and what makes them tick. His parenting skills are tested when calamity strikes. Soon after they arrive at his Bayonne, New Jersey home, unseasonably strong winds and lightning set the stage for a Martian invasion of the earth.  Martian tripod-killing machines emerge from the bowels of the earth and incinerate everything around them. Ray, in a panic, flees to Boston with his children in one of the only remaining working vehicles, hoping to find sanctuary in the home of his former in-laws where their mother is staying.

Scenes of death and destruction traumatize Rachel; and when they find temporary refuge in a deserted building, she asks her father to sing her a lullaby so she can sleep. Ray doesn’t remember any lullaby, but he manages to sing a song that calms her. Ray realizes that in times of crisis, family comes first. The safety of loved ones trumps all other considerations.

Jewish tradition fosters a similar mind set. It is the family that is the bedrock of stability that enables one to endure the storms of adversity. The Bible emphasizes that when the Jews went down into the iron furnace of Egyptian slavery, they went down as families; for it is within the family unit that people can find safe haven and it is within the family where lifelong values are nurtured.

There is a well established family custom that Jewish parents bless their children regularly. Some do it once a year on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year; others do it every Friday night. It was my own custom to do it once a year, but in recent years I wished I had done it weekly. To look into your child’s eyes once a week, to utter a blessing to your son and daughter, and then to hug and kiss them seems an exquisite pleasure for a parent. Why do it only once a year? Kids leave the home when they grow up, but the memory of an embrace, of a heart to heart moment of love, leaves a bank account of affection that that can draw interest for many years.

My children and I live in different communities now but my children often call me on Friday to ask for by blessing. I cannot hug them from Israel, but I can tell them I love them and that means a lot to me and them.

War of the Worlds reminds us that in times of crisis, family comes first. It is wise to nurture family ties with our young children so that we and they can enjoy the warmth and constancy of our mutual love as we and our children grow older together.

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Catch Me If You Can (2002), directed by Steven Spielberg

Posted on June 27, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

 catch me if you can posterOver 25 years ago, one of my sons asked me a question of Jewish law. I meditated for a moment and gave him an answer that I thought was correct. About a year later, I discovered that what I told him was incorrect. I apologized for giving him the wrong answer and life went on. Still, however, my quick response of many years ago rankles in my mind. He came to me because he assumed that I was a source of wisdom upon whom he could rely, like money in the bank. My hasty answer wasn’t fully researched and turned out to be flat-out wrong. I realized then and now that, in spite of their sometimes challenging behavior, children intuitively respect and revere parents, and we always have to be conscious of our status as teachers and role models for them, and behave at our very best for them.

This father-son dynamic is tested in Catch Me If You Can, an entertaining and thoughtful drama based upon the true life story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a clever young man who impersonated an airline pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer in order to bilk others out of millions of dollars on three continents, all done before he reached the age of twenty.

The narrative begins with a dinner honoring his father who has worked for his local civic organization for many years. Frank Jr. watches his father in admiration as he tells the story of two mice who were in peril of drowning in a vat of milk. One succumbs and the other keeps on scurrying about until the milk turns into butter and he is saved. The moral: hard work leads to ultimate success. It is a great lesson for a father to teach his son.

However, privately Frank’s father is not what he seems. He has money problems, which he denies, doing whatever he can to avoid responsibility. Frank Jr. follows his lead but is more creative than his father, charting an egregious course for himself that gets the attention of the FBI.

When, after many months of crime, he pays a surprise visit to his father, the meeting turns into a painful realization of his father’s failure to parent him in morality. Frank Sr. complains that the government is after him: “The IRS wants more. I gave them cake. They want the crumbs. I’ll make them chase me for the rest of their lives.” He also reveals that he knows his son has stolen millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims and is being investigated by the FBI. Frank Jr. pointedly asks him: “Why didn’t you ever ask me to stop?” His love for his father is still there, but he is angry and disappointed that his father never voiced objection to his life of crime.

The Talmud tells us that a father has an obligation to teach his son a trade; and if he doesn’t do this, it is tantamount to teaching his son to be a robber. A parent’s task clearly is not just to provide for a child’s material needs but to give him moral guidance, to teach him how to navigate an ethical life in a world in which morality is tested every day.

The concrete image of this parental role is what transpires on the Passover Seder night, where the father sits at the head of table and conducts an evening of moral instruction for his family. The evening is filled with life lessons, focusing on the interchanges between father and son. Metaphorically speaking, parents always sit at the head of the table, and it is from that vantage point that we should exercise our parental roles.

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Brothers (2009), directed by Jim Sheridan

Posted on June 23, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

brothers posterMany times I have read in the newspapers about post-traumatic stress syndrome as it relates to soldiers coming home after serving in combat. I understand it intellectually, but it is something very far from my personal experience. In conversations with my son-in-law, one of the few Orthodox Jews who served in the Marines, he gave me some idea of what soldiers face in the battle. Although stationed in Kuwait and not in an active battle theater, he described the training he received for combat which focused on learning how to kill efficiently.

After watching Brothers, a powerful drama about the aftermath of military service, I have a better understanding of the daily stress of those who serve in battle and how service in the thick of combat can change lives for many years afterward.

Sam Cahill, a solid family man, is a Marine captain about to leave on his fourth tour of duty. Married to his high school sweetheart, Grace, and the father of two beautiful daughters, his parting is fraught with a quiet anxiety as family members take leave of one another.

Sam was a star high school athlete and student who never quit or backed away from a tough assignment. His brother, Tommy, in contrast, avoided responsibility at all costs. We first meet him as he leaves jail after serving time for armed robbery, and he arrives just in time to bid farewell to Sam as he embarks for Afghanistan in October of 2007.

News soon arrives that Sam’s helicopter has crashed, killing all of the Marines aboard. But in truth, Sam and his childhood friend, Joe Willis, have been taken captive in a remote mountain village. The film alternates scenes of Sam’s brutal incarceration with scenes of his family back home, who mourn for Sam and who at the same time try to reconstruct their lives without him. His brother Tommy becomes an anchor to Grace and the children who see in him a hint of their father and husband. Tommy and his friends even redecorate the family kitchen to give Grace an emotional lift.

A bond develops between Grace, her girls, and Tommy, in which they genuinely mourn for Sam while at the same time create isolated moments of happiness to make the present bearable. All this transpires as Sam and Joe are tortured brutally, both physically and mentally. Eventually, Sam does an unspeakable act which goes against his very nature, and the psychic residue of that act remains with him when he eventually is rescued and returns home. His adjustment to normality is complicated and involves his relationship with many family members who realize that something has changed within him. He is no longer the person he once was and may be unstable psychologically. The film approaches his adjustment in a complex way and we observe how a friend’s minor gesture can evoke major emotional reactions in Sam.

In the darkest of hours, Jewish tradition always tells us to focus on the light. Our Sages tell us the cycle of the moon reminds us that when all is dark, light will come. Bad times are not forever. The new moon will appear shortly, signaling that happiness and healing can begin. It is a message of hope that after tragedy will come joy and redemption. In Brothers, the response is not so clear, but it is evident that love between husband and wife can be the bedrock of a new beginning. Moreover, when Sam, in a moment of lucidity, says that in spite of what he has gone through, he should be so happy that he is alive, we realize that he is on a road to recovery. Appreciating the gifts we have in the present allows us to have a healthy future.

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Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005), directed by Doug Liman

Posted on June 16, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

mr and mrs smith posterIn my work as a volunteer matchmaker on an internet site, I often see self-descriptions of people that are totally bland and uninteresting. One girl writes: “I love to read, listen to music, and I enjoy following sports and spending time with friends.” I wrote a note to her advising her to share something about her goals in life, what moves her spiritually, what makes her different from someone else. I find that men do not want a shallow mate. They want to marry a person who thinks deeply and who will have something to say to them about important life issues.

I was reminded of this as I watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith, an action-saturated comedy about two assassins who marry one another and do not reveal their professions to each other. Over time, they have little to say to one another except bland platitudes, and the film opens as they are participating in a marriage counseling session to rejuvenate their union.

We learn that John and Jane Smith first met in Bogota, Columbia where they both were being pursued by the authorities. It was love at first sight and soon after they married. Working for different firms, they conceal their true vocations and lead a life in which duplicity is the norm, each lying to the other whenever they leave the house on a mission. Things come to a head when they both are assigned to eliminate the same target. Almost killing each other, they discover each other’s true profession. At first, their professional goals come first and they attempt to kill each other; but love asserts itself and in an epiphany of honest affection, they reunite as a couple and rediscover their original passion for each other.

John and Jane soon find out that their employers want them dead. Assassins who marry one another are a liability and the Smiths become a target for a veritable army of assassins. How they cleverly evade their pursuers and untangle the web of lies that they have woven over the five or six years of their marriage provides a humorous and fascinating narrative of marital therapy taken to extremes.

Judaism places a high value on preserving marriage and insuring good relations between husband and wife. So important is this that even the name of God can be erased from Scripture in order to sustain the marriage bond and to create a peaceful household. For example, when a woman is suspected of adultery, she is required to participate in a ritual that demands the erasure of holy text to restore her good name. The Sages all agree that for that lofty purpose, God’s name can be blotted out. The sanctity of the home is paramount.

Tensions inevitably arise in a marriage where two people are sharing every day together. One can always find something to complain about. But that is not what marriage is all about. On the contrary, marriage is about finding the good in another person, and not finding fault and constantly criticizing the other.  In truth, it is much easier to love someone from afar because that love is not tested daily as it is in marriage.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith reminds us that the bedrock of a successful marriage is a combination of unconditional love, honest communication, and a focus on the future instead of the past. In a moment of crisis when they are both facing possible annihilation, Jane tells John “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here with you.” That’s a message that resonates with John, who knows that whatever the outcome, he and his wife possess a shared destiny.

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Real Steel (2011), directed by Shawn Levy

Posted on June 9, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

Real Steel posterAs part of the matriculation requirement for Israeli high school students, they have to do a project upon which their oral examination is based. Since my students enjoy cinema, I gave them the topic of “Influential Movies of the 20th and 21st Centuries.” One student selected the film Real Steel, which describes a future time when human boxing is outlawed as too dangerous and robot fights are substituted. I asked the student why the film was influential, and he responded that it was influential for him because the story of a boy and his father that is the subtext of Real Steel gave him an insight into his own relationship with his father and how it might be improved.

Charlie, a former boxer and now manager of a robot boxer, is an absentee father when Max’s  mother dies. Instead of assuming responsibility for Max, he requests $100,000 in return for signing over custody to Max’s aunt. But there is a hitch. Max’s aunt and her husband have to go away for a month before they can take Max into their home, so they ask Charlie to take care of him until they return. The month turns into an unforgettable road trip for Max as he accompanies his father through the entrepreneurial world of robot boxing. Charlie buys used robots, repairs them, and then uses them in fights in order to win prize money. Sometimes his robots win, but most of the time they lose and eventually Charlie goes broke.

All seems lost until Max serendipitously finds a buried robot named Atom. They reboot Atom and set to work restoring its fighting functions. Although built as a machine to spar with other robots, Max and Charlie teach Atom how to take the offensive and fight against other mechanically superior machines.

Gradually Charlie and Max find unofficial fights for Atom. Max uses the winnings of matches to buy spare parts and fix Atom, and Charlie begins to pay off his old debts. Eventually, Atom’s prowess is recognized by professional promoters and he is offered prestigious matches in the Worldwide Robot Boxing Association. Soon the ultimate match is scheduled between Atom and Zeus, the undefeated champion of robot boxing. The bruising fight is the climax of the film, with the outcome unclear until the last moment.

The heart of Real Steel is not the robot gadgetry; rather it is the story of a dysfunctional relationship between a father and a son, and how that relationship is made whole again. Reconciliation begins when father and son stop finding fault with one another, when they begin to accept one another’s imperfections, and when they share a common goal. The shared goal of repairing Atom and preparing him for his fights unites father and son and rids them of old memory tapes of past indiscretions.

As a parent, it is natural to find fault with a child. I often want to correct my children, but I try to be guided by the Biblical model of how to give correction. I first ask myself if this is the right time and place?  Can I criticize the behavior and not my child? Is my child ready to listen to me, or do I first need to build more trust so that my words will be accepted more readily?

The Bible tells us that criticism is good. We grow when we are able to listen to reproof and make midcourse corrections in the way we live. However, we have to be very careful when we criticize. The language in the Bible for this commandment is “you shall surely reprove.” Our Sages inform us that the Hebrew phrase for reprove is repeated to emphasize that reproof should only be given when someone is ready to listen. Simply criticizing goes nowhere. Charlie and Max finally understand this, which allows them to focus on the future and enrich their relationship. Real Steel does not just refer to robots. It refers to the strong bond between father and son that endures despite the mistakes that we make as fathers and sons.

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Crimson Tide (1995), directed by Tony Scott

Posted on June 2, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

crimson tide posterWhen I served as a synagogue rabbi, I was often asked by congregants to listen to a dilemma they were facing and then to offer some guidance. As they explained their situation to me, I often felt I needed more information to give them sound advice. Sometimes the problem was straightforward; other times I counseled congregants to wait until more information was available before making a decision. I rarely regretted telling them to wait a little longer before adopting a particular course of action, but I would regret offering advice prematurely before all the facts were in. This is one of the challenges faced by the protagonists in Crimson Tide, a tense and absorbing naval thriller dealing with the possibility of nuclear war.

The film begins with rebels commandeering nuclear missile launching sites in Russia. When the rebel leader threatens to launch the missiles, the United States sends its own nuclear submarine to patrol the waters off Russia and, if necessary, to launch a pre-emptive attack against Russia. The tension escalates when Frank Ramsey, the captain of the submarine Alabama, and Ron Hunter, the new executive officer of the ship, clash over the protocols for preparing for a possible nuclear strike.

When the submarine receives news that the rebels are about to break the codes for the missile launch, the Alabama goes into a state of high alert. A hostile sub sends torpedoes towards the Alabama, which miss their target; but the explosion nearby causes the ship to lose its radio transmission. Herein lies the problem: the last completed message received is for the Alabama to launch its missiles, but there is a subsequent message that is incomplete. Does it confirm the previous order or does it cancel it? Ramsey argues that it does; Hunter says it does not. Both men operate out of pure motives, but one approach may lead to a worldwide nuclear holocaust and the other to the annihilation of the United States. Each passing moment without a decision puts America at risk, but a quick decision that is wrong is catastrophic for the world.

Jewish tradition encourages debate when the way forward is unclear. The Talmud is the quintessential text embodying the argumentative spirit searching for truth. The classic examples are the debates between Hillel and Shammai, two giants of Torah scholarship. They provide a model to emulate. They both want is best for the community and they are devoid of personal agenda,l so their disagreements are viewed positively. They may arrive at different conclusions, but both are animated by the same quest for truth.

When Ramsey is looking for a new executive officer, he confides to one of his senior officers that he wants someone who will be an independent thinker, someone who will not be afraid to challenge him. Inwardly, he values the perspective of others. This is a lesson that emerges from the Creation narrative. There, God says “Let us make man.”  The commentators ask: to whom is God talking? Who did God have to consult with before creating the world? In truth, God did not have to consult with anyone, but the Bible here is teaching us an important life lesson; namely, that before embarking on any important task, we should always consult others. God wanted to teach us that no matter how important and knowledgeable we think we are, we should seek counsel with others to make better decisions.

As I get older, I realize how little I know. As a young man, I thought there were only two ways to see things: the right way and the wrong way. With the benefit of life experience, I have learned that there are a variety of different approaches to life’s challenges. Crimson Tide reminds us that the more informed we are and the more we glean the wisdom of others, the better decisions we will make.

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Witness (1985), directed by Peter Weir

Posted on May 26, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

Witness posterRecently I had a conversation with a recent immigrant to Israel and he told me he never picks up ultra-religious men who are hitching a ride. He feels they are lazy, exploitative of community funds, and are disloyal to the state of Israel. In sum, they are takers and not givers and should be less influential in the Israel political scene. Therefore, he does not want to reward them by giving them free rides. I told him that I do pick up such hitchhikers because I really don’t know them well and do not want the actions of a few to permeate my consciousness and cause me to view all the ultra-religious as takers.

Stereotyping those who are unfamiliar to us is the subtext of Witness, a police thriller which utilizes the Amish culture of Pennsylvania as a backdrop for its story. Rachel Lapp, a young Amish widow traveling by train with her 8-year-old son Samuel to visit her sister, stops at the Philadelphia station. Here Samuel wanders into the men’s room, where behind closed doors, he witnesses a brutal murder. Captain John Book is assigned to the case; and at the police station, Samuel identifies one of the killers as a narcotics officer who was involved in a drug raid in which the drugs mysteriously disappeared.

As events unfold, we learn that Book’s superior officer was behind the robbery of the contraband, and Book is now targeted by his sinister boss for execution. A gunfight leaves Book wounded and he flees to Amish country with Rachel and Samuel who are now in mortal danger.

Collapsing from loss of blood, Book stays with Amish until he gradually heals. Rachel and Book develop an affection for one another during his recuperation period and Book’s view of the Amish changes. They are no longer strange and backward, but people whose uncomplicated, wholesome perspective on life impresses Book as honest and purposeful. Book and Rachel both know that, coming from two different worlds, their relationship is a non-starter; but that does not stop them from caring for one another and seeing the world from the other’s vantage point.

Eventually, the corrupt police officers locate Book and travel to Amish country to kill him, and it is the Amish tradition of non-violence that figures prominently in the film’s denouement. Book is traveling into town by horse and buggy when his party is accosted by local bullies, who stereotypically regard the Amish as weak and out of touch with modernity. They pick a fight with Book’s group, not realizing that Book is not Amish. Book, incensed at their brazenness, decides to retaliate by breaking the nose of one of the bullies, an action totally out of character for the Amish. This leads to a police report which finds its way to his corrupt superiors, giving them Book’s location, the scene of a tense and bloody climax.

Jewish tradition tells us everyone is created in the image of God and, therefore, has infinite value. Being different does not mean being less worthy or less important. The Talmud states that baseless hatred was the cause of the destruction of the Second Temple. The great medieval scholar Moshe ibn Ezra said “Love blinds us to faults; hatred to virtues.” When we view others who are different from us in a negative light without even knowing them, we do not appreciate the good that is often within them. The Ethics of the Fathers further tells us that “hated of people removes a man from the world.” Witness reminds us that beneath the strange clothing of a religious sect, there may be values worth emulating. When we view the unusual looking stranger as a friend, we open up ourselves to growing intellectually and emotionally.

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Margin Call (2011), directed by J.C. Chandor

Posted on May 19, 2013 by herbert j. cohen

margin call posterDuring my years in Jewish education, there were stressful moments when I felt a need to take counsel with someone older and wiser than me. Fortunately, experienced lay leaders in the community often provided me with a fresh perspective on an issue as I navigated my school through a challenging time. One lay leader, in particular, was skilled at enabling me to shift my paradigm and arrive at sound decisions. His conversations would always begin with the phrase: “conventional wisdom says…” and then he would launch into his own analysis of the situation. Talking with him was helpful because his valuable insights helped me see beyond the obvious.

There is a mesmerizing scene in Margin Call, a profanity –laced story of a Wall Street meltdown with moral ambiguities at its center, which reveals senior wisdom at work. Although it is a negative example applied to the world of finance, it demonstrates how an older person sees things differently from a younger person.

Seth Bregman, an engineering PhD from MIT who now works as a risk management analyst, discovers that his firm is on the verge of a total financial meltdown. He shares the information with his superior, who in turn shares the information with his superior. A middle of the night meeting of all the senior executives is called to determine how the company will deal with this impending crisis. One suggests selling off the toxic stock before the market can react to news of their worthlessness. Another feels that this approach will forever ruin the company because people will never trust the company again. And so the issue is debated throughout the night until the moment of reckoning when the stock market opens and we witness the consequences of decisions made in an environment of moral compromise.

It is fascinating to observe the way John Tuld, the CEO, approaches the problem. He does not ask for the minutia but rather wants to understand the big picture. When Seth attempts to explain the crisis, Tuld tells him: “speak as you might to a young child, or to a golden retriever and tell me the nature of the problem.” He informs the group that he gets paid the big bucks because he can predict the future of the company, not because of his everyday scrutiny of details. The details are best left to the analysts like Seth who can understand the numbers in sophisticated ways.

What emerges from this scene is an understanding of the radically different approaches of the young and old to the same problem. Both kinds of wisdom are useful. The young man knows facts and figures. The old man sees beyond the detail and into the heart of the matter. His desire for a simple explanation of why this calamity has occurred reflects his profound grasp of the problem and its ripple effects both now and in the future. In my own memory, I can recall many board meetings that meandered until one senior member of the board asked the simplest of questions to bring everyone back to the core issue being discussed.

The Ethics of the Fathers teaches us that the wise man learns from every man, but there is a cautionary note: “ Learning from the young is like eating unripe grapes whereas learning from the old is like eating ripe grapes or drinking aged wine.” The Sages suggest that one should favor the wisdom of the older man who speaks from experience as well as from knowledge.

Moreover, the Talmud tells us that as man ages, he becomes fit for attaining deeper levels of wisdom. For example, at five years of age, he may know Scripture, but it is not until age forty that he really begins to understand it. Margin Call reminds us that considering things from a senior’s point of view, even if we disagree with him, may enhance our own understanding of a problem.

Purchase this movie from Amazon.com.

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