Menashe

Invites audiences into the insular world of Hasidic New York via a character they won't soon forget, memorably embodied by first-timer Menashe Lustig.

NO LONGER PLAYING

Menashe

Deep in the heart of New York’s ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community, Menashe, a kind, hapless grocery store clerk, struggles to make ends meet and responsibly parent his young son, Rieven, following his wife Leah’s death. Tradition prohibits Menashe from raising his son alone, so Rieven’s strict uncle adopts him, leaving Menashe heartbroken. Meanwhile, though Menashe seems to bungle every challenge in his path, his rabbi grants him one special week with Rieven before Leah’s memorial. It’s his chance to prove himself a suitable man of faith and fatherhood, and restore respect among his doubters.

Performed entirely in Yiddish, Menashe uses intimate, handheld camerawork to drop us inside and humanize a hermetically sealed world of Heredi, working-class men debating in crowded shuls or seeking counsel in the rabbi’s library. And yet Menashe is in many ways an outsider in this tight-knit circle, as he bucks convention and ruffles feathers to stay true to himself.
PG
Genre
Drama, Jewish Culture
Runtime
81
Language
Yiddish
Director
Joshua Weinstein
Producer
Alex Lipschultz
Writer(s)
Joshua Weinstein
Cast
Menashe Lustig
FEATURED REVIEW
Claudia Puig, The Wrap

They’ve given us the sweetest taboo: “Menashe” is a fascinating, poignant and rare glimpse into the world of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, starring members of the Hasidic community. Since much of modern life — including most films — are forbidden in Hasidic culture, and because the film was shot ...

Menashe Get Tickets

There are currently no showtimes for this film. Please check back soon.