Mendel (1997)

A Jewish family leaves Germany after surviving the Holocaust and heads to Norway. Mendel, their youngest son, is too young to make sense of the Holocaust but tries to comprehend his ... See full summary »

Director:

Alexander Røsler

Writer:

Alexander Røsler

Stars:

Thomas Jüngling Sørensen, Teresa Harder, Hans Kremer

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thomas Jüngling Sørensen	...	Mendel
Teresa Harder	...	Bela Trotzig
Hans Kremer	...	Aron Trotzig
Martin Meingast	...	David
Bjørn Sundquist	...	Vottemannen
Charlotte Trier	...	Mrs. Freund
Wolfgang Pintzka	...	Mr. Freund
John Henning Görbing-Hermstad	...	Markus Freund
Lene Bragli	...	Mrs. Rosen
Geo von Krogh	...	Mr. Rosen
Bjørn Jenseg	...	Ugland
Gaute Thu Tesli	...	Siggen
Ketil Gudim	...	Farmer
Wenche Kvamme	...	Sister Britt
Trond Høvik	...	Missionary

Storyline

A Jewish family leaves Germany after surviving the Holocaust and heads to Norway. Mendel, their youngest son, is too young to make sense of the Holocaust but tries to comprehend his family's actions during the war and their nightmares now. His imagination frequently runs away from him.

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Plot Keywords:

holocaust | germany | nightmare | norway | bed wetting | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Norway

Language:

Norwegian

Release Date:

20 March 1998 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lichtblick Film- und Fernsehproduktion (I),Norsk Film,Northern Lights

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

definitely not a comedy

I've seen this film billed as a comedy about a Jewish family's post-war adjustment to Norway. However, this is a very poignant film, filled with chilling flashbacks to the Holocaust. I would never take a child to see this film.

The child protagonist's struggle to define himself as a Jew in Norway is challenging, charming, and heart-rending all at once. His nightmares are powerful and genuinely terrifyingly.

Certainly most Norwegians come across as unsympathetic evangelizers in this film. Was this what Jewish refugees really met when they came to post-war Noray, I wonder? It is interesting to hear the child's language gradually become Norwegian.

The family's hidden secret is telegraphed from the very beginning of the film. So when it's revealed, my reaction was "so what?" The interactions between Mendel and his older brother were incredibly powerful, the real stuff of sibling rivalry, rage, betrayal, and powerful love.