It's Passover!

Here are some good movies

I’m celebrating Passover with family this week and also helping care for my dad whose wife will be out of town. I’m looking forward to spending time with him and my kids who came willingly! 😉

Maybe I’ll get an essay out of our conversations about his favorite hobby, the NASDAQ, watching him doze off during a really good movie, and helping to put on his compression socks. I wear those on long flights and let me tell ya, they’re like pulling on skinny jeans that you outgrew 20 years ago. Should be fun.

We’ll be Sedering with my sister’s new in laws.

Hubby— Are they Orthodox?

Me— No, they’re Israeli.

Laughter ensued.

(If you didn’t already know, most Israeli’s are secular. They probably figure it’s enough to live in a home with a built in bomb shelter and dwell amongst our history— the Western Wall, Mt. Masada… what more could G-d want from them? There are Orthodox Jews who live there but they are the minority.)

If you’ve never been to a Seder and don’t know the story of Passover, here are the cliff notes in movie versions with a documentary thrown in for good measure.

Passover’s Greatest Hits

1. Prince of Egypt (1998) We watched this animated movie with the kids when they were little. We loved, even as adults! You’ll recognize the celeb voices—Kilmer, Fiennes, Pfeiffer, Goldblum, Bullock… and singers— Huston and Carey.

Dreamworks

2. Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) Starring Christian Bale and a few other notables like Ben Kinglsey and Sigourney Weaver. It’s well directed and acted and offers an interesting interpretation of the biblical story.

   I was slightly miffed that Moses never once said a particular line in the movie that is probably the most famous line of any book, bible or otherwise. There were several opportunities, many scenes with Pharaoh… I’d say to hubby, “Here is comes. He’s gonna say it…” And the scene would end without the quote. I’m not sure what the writer was thinking, opting out of this line of dialogue. It’s like watching a movie about Martin Luther King, Jr. and he never says, “I have a dream…”

   In case you don’t know the biblical quote, “Let my people go!”

Photo: Norville Rogers. Yes, that’s Aaron Paul behind Moses.

3. The Ten Commandments (1956) What can I say? If you’ve never watched this Charlton Heston classic, put down your computer or phone and watch. Yes, it’s dated but so is All About Eve (1950) and it’s also a masterpiece. Edward G. Robinson has a supporting role and at the end of each sentence of dialogue I shouted at the TV— ie: “Give me this house and I’ll give you the thrown…See!” It was my own private Rocky Horror Picture Show. (I like yelling at the TV. I don’t throw things though.)

Getty images

4. Streit’s Matzo and the American Dream (2016) documentary about a famous Matzo company that opened on the lower east side in 1925 and is still run by the same family. They used the same machinery! Why? So they could pay their employees well and not raise prices.

   They shipped Matzo to Europe during the war and in some boxes they hid bullets for the resistance. Spoiler alert— by the end of the documentary we learn that they had to move to a large factory outside NYC so they could remain competitive. It signifies the end of an era. A bit sad.

   For those of you who don’t know, Matzo is not a yummy cracker. So I loved when one of the owners said that the secret to their recipe is the NYC water. Uh—It doesn’t help. In fact, Streits was never our go-to Matzo. We were a Manischewitz family. I was a bit confused when one of the owners also said (paraphrased) “We could make the Matzo in New Jersey but we want to keep it in America.”

Menemsha FIlms

Quiz:

Okay, not really. Don’t be nervous.

1. Do you know the difference between Passover Matzo and the “regular” kind sold the rest of the year? Here’s the answer.

2. Have you seen any of these movies? Any favs?

3. What are you doing this first week of April??

4. For my Jesus and bunny loving friends, Happy Easter!

5. Do you yell at the TV?

6. I sent this to my Italian son in law. It’s very funny and spot on.