The
movie, "footnote" was the Israel Best Foreign Film nominee for the
Oscars and it certainly earned that nod. This is movie about the vast
gulf that can occur between a father and son because the male don't talk
about their problems which divide them while mothers and daughters do.

The
writer and director, Joseph Cedar, has put the story about the two men,
both highly regarded teachers and writers specializing in the Talmud
and Jewish lore. The father, Eliezer , played by Shlomo Bar Aba , is quiet, scholarly and generally works alone while his son, Uriel, played by Lior Ashkenazi , is outgoing, a popular writer. Though father and son are both admired
for the work they do they have very little communication between each
other. They both are married and Uriel has a son who doesn't know what
he wants to do and his father is of no help, not reaching out to him but
giving him a warning to the effect that he might lose hs father if he doesn't do something with his life.

The film revolves around the honor of the Isreal Prize which Uriel wins but Eleizer is called by mistake and told he won it. How the son handles the
mistake, the exposure of academia politics and the father's reaction to
winning the award he has wanted for a long time is what "Footnote" is
about. The feelings of, and between, the father and son is seen from
both points of view.

The acting by Bar Aba and Ashkenazi is top drawer and the supporting players Nevo Kimchi , Alisa Rosen , Alma Zak, Micah Lewesohn and Daniel Markovich bring a lot of dimensions to the father and son.

The music by Amit Poznansky, is about the only thing loud thing in the movie, sometimes jarring. sometimes amusing while all the production aspects shine.

This is a comedy and drama, a thinking movie, as many different ideas such as ethics, academia, relationships , family, success
and failure are touched upon, sometimes with humor but as admirable as
the movie is there is a lack of involvement for the audience to hold on
to.