The movie centers on Menashe, a recently widowed Hasidic Jewish man, who struggles against tradition to keep custody of his only son after his wife passes away.
Weinstein normally directs documentaries, and "Menashe" has a fly-on-the-wall feel at times, particularly in the warmly believable interplay between father and son. The movie was filmed in Borough Park, N.Y., which adds to the atmosphere.
The hyper-specificity of [a] community, and the deep respect for faith that the movie observes, makes it easy for Menashe to reinvent the everyman tragedy.
The effort to raise a child, Menashe reminds us, is as likely to confront us with our own childishness as it is to bring out our maturity and responsibility.
"Menashe" is a slice of an America that you've rarely seen before on screen, a world that largely remains from the mainstream, but to which Weinstein shows us a bird's eye view of here.
Weinstein brings a palpable authenticity (attributable in part to a cast made up of local non-actors) to this universally resonant story, rendering it unique and specific in a meticulously detailed setting.
