SummaryEliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. Meanwhile his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly s... Read More
Directed By:Joseph Cedar
Written By:Joseph Cedar
Footnote
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
User score
Generally Favorable
6.4
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
89% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
11% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Apr 9, 2012
100
Nothing has exploded on the screen in recent years as violently as that mad quarrel in a tiny room - a room that is Israel itself. [16 April 2012, p.86]
Mar 8, 2012
100
Footnote does function as a character study, an exceptionally rich one.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.4
68% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
8% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
24% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Apr 22, 2012
10
A brilliant film. Academic infighting provides the comedy, and father-son relationship provides the pathos. Not for anyone who does not know what "philology" is, but for audiences that lament the absence of intelligent films, this is a must.
Dec 12, 2012
9
An impeccably written character study from Israel that is at times exhilarating, angry, passionate, funny, provocative, and is never less than absolutely absorbing. The writing, first of all, is due the most praise. It is so focused and attuned to the tone of the story that I instantly knew these two men. I was never left scratching my head at any point, lost in all of the talk of Talmud scholarship. The acting is amazingly restrained. The two actors who play father and son, competing in the same, very small field, are astounding. I feel as though they have lived these lives and completely understand the relationship they have and only through their eyes. I would only dismiss
Mar 4, 2012
90
Joseph Cedar's Footnote is a wry, wise little film that revels in the cataclysmic import of a life's most ostensibly trivial details.
Mar 6, 2012
80
Cedar's idiosyncratically brilliant script also has a moral question at its heart: Is lying to spare someone's feelings ever justified? Surely the Talmud has a thing or two to say about that.
Mar 23, 2012
75
At its best when it gets into the cutthroat dynamics of academic competition, which are both horrifying and amusing.
Mar 6, 2012
70
Something between a comedy of everyday absurdity and a family tragedy pushed into the realm of the hyper-real, Footnote uses its characters' differing relationships to authenticity as the basis for an enigmatic riff on representation.
Mar 4, 2012
50
Joseph Cedar's Footnote is a sour, rather unpleasant affair that hinges on acts of Jews behaving badly.
Apr 21, 2012
9
This is an intense (& sometimes funny) story about scholarship and competition between a father & son researching & writing in the same academic field The academic tensions & jargon are enough to warrant a trip to the theater, but the complex family relationships give the film just the right amount of emotional content. Scholarship is shown as active, intellectual work, & I've never seen the painful act of writing & striving for just the right word depicted as well. The rivalries & betrayals that academia engenders are violent in their passionate intensity. I'm looking forward to more films by Joseph Cedar.
Sep 30, 2015
8
Footnote is a very engaging film with strong acting, storytelling, and cinematography. The culture and setting of Israel are interesting as well and add to the film's depth. The strong negative reviews are surprising, though the film is mislabeled as a 'comedy' when it is a family/political drama. I go the other way and highly recommend it.
Oct 7, 2014
7
This tense but at times funny film takes father-son tension to a place we haven't really seen before -- the Talmud runs through it. Not a single character is wholly sympathetic, which makes the drama brave and engrossing. It is wrenching to see the son's fierce defense of his father -- in a tiny room crowded with academic egos -- and wonder not only whether he'll ever receive anything back, but whether he'll be able to do better with his own son. The action slows down and I did wish for a bit of resolution that never quite came.
Production Company:
- Avi Chai fund
- Israeli Film Fund
- Jerusalem Film and Television Fund
- Movie Plus productions
- United King Films
Release Date:Mar 9, 2012
Duration:1 h 43 m
Rating:PG
Tagline:Pride, Envy, Vanity... How far would you go for recognition?
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Awards of the Israeli Film Academy
• 9 Wins & 13 Nominations
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
