Footnote Review

                                  Footnote is a new comedy that comes all the way to us from Israel. It was nominated for best foreign film at the Oscars last year, and deservedly so. Footnote is hilarious in the most subtle way possible. It does not provide many laugh out loud moments of intense floor rolling. On the contrary, you rarely laugh in the film because it's so witty and slick and busy getting to the heart of the jokes that you don't have hardly any time to laugh. The film works best, however, because of its no holds barred attitude. One of the rules of thumb for a great comedy is that anything goes, and in this film..nothing's too sacred.

                                 The film follows Uriel and Eliezer, a father and son who are extremely competitive in the same type of field. They both are scientists researching the Talmud, a Jewish scroll that was created back in the old days. When Eliezer gets a call to receive the Israel award, he is in great (and happy) shock. However, the award was meant for son Uriel. Uriel can't tell his father because he thinks it will be the death of him (quite possibly literally.) The main problem with this film is how it's being advertised. In the trailers, it gives off the impression that it's all about the award. While the Israel award plays a big part in a very funny second half, it does not real come up that the award was meant for the son until about 45 minutes in, and the father doesn't get notification of the award until about 35 minutes in. The thing that's great about this film is that the build up to the award is just as funny as the award stuff itself. The only problem I had with this film is the end. Yes, everyone in my audience, including myself thought that a reel was missing due to the abrupt ending that doesn't wrap up the movie at all. This is my only complaint with the film besides the advertising, however.

                              The perfect casting is another thing I loved about this film. Everyone in this fairly unknown cast does a terrific job. The actors who play the role of Uriel and Eliezer are Lior Ashkenazi and Shiomo Bar-Aba. These two are really funny both on and off screen together. Footnote is just about the perfect movie..the script extremely funny, the acting fantastic, and the execution absolutely daring, but the end a let down. I suggest you go check out Footnote if you're looking for some subtle comedy that doesn't really let ends meet.
(4 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG for thematic elements, brief nudity, language, and smoking)