Our Ratings Guide to The 31st San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
As always, Filmbalaya is here to help you decide which films you should or should not see while planning your festival schedule. I hope our subjective star ratings are of some use to you, and that no matter which films you decide to see that you enjoy them. Click on the film titles for full review.
In Heaven Underground ”It’s a beautiful film, and even if you are not Jewish, if you would like to see a documentary with such strong humanity, view this film.” – Tom
Phnom Penh Lullaby “Hardship. Regret. Pain.: Three central themes brilliantly brought to life… evoked authentic feelings of somberness to which no narrative film has ever done for me before.” – Adam
The Queen Has No Name “A captivating testament to the art of editing and a film well worth your 85 minutes” – Adam
Skate Of Mind “A Romeo & Juliet version of Larry Clark‘s Kids…impressive skateboarding footage, capturing a window of time in one’s coming-of-age phase of life” – Adam
Strangers No More ”This 40-minute short on the Bialik-Rogozin public school in Tel Aviv is an eye-opening reminder of the value of what quality teachers mean to both a child and the community.” – Adam
5 Weddings And A Felony “If Woody Allen was ever to make a documentary I would imagine it being something along the lines as this.” – Adam
100 Voices: A Journey Home ”The performances in this documentary did strike a chord somewhere deep within me” – Adam
Mabul (The Flood) ”This film’s power lies in its depth of revealing ones struggle when dealing with the downpour of physical and mental changes associated with the hell that is puberty.” – Adam
Precious Life “I can see why this film won the Israeli Academy Award for best documentary.” – Adam
Rabies “A whole lot of fun… more of a group with beer horror movie than an alone on the couch horror movie” – Nick
Bobby Fischer Against The World “There is an abundance of footage featuring Bobby Fischer that did appeal to the more voyeuristic side of me.” – Adam
Little Rose “See this film if you’re dying to see a spy movie on the big screen, just don’t expect The Lives of Others revisited.” – Adam
The Names of Love “Charming, cute, and funny but when you strip off all the bells an whistles, it’s remarkably average.” – Nick
Polish Bar “Polish Bar may not be the greatest of coming-of-age film, but it is entertaining enough to never lose my interest.” – Adam
The Round Up “The first half hour is the greatest flaw of this film and destroys its potential of being a beautiful tragedy.” – Tom
Once again, that moment to celebrate Jewish Cinema has arrived with the 
