{"id":23973,"date":"2017-04-28T03:43:30","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T10:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=23973"},"modified":"2017-04-26T12:41:04","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T19:41:04","slug":"u-s-israel-relations-in-norman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/04\/28\/u-s-israel-relations-in-norman\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S.-Israel relations in Norman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard Gere, left, as Norman Oppenheimer and Lior Ashkenazi as Micha Eshel. In the unlikely confines of an upscale shoe store, the two characters forge a connection that will have profound ramifications. (photo by Niko Tavernise, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The marvelous tragicomedy Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer <\/em>depicts an aging, desperate Jewish influence peddler who has survived in a shark-eat-minnow world via a smooth patter that blends alleged connections with half-promises.<\/p>\n

Through manipulation, charm and luck, Norman (a poignant Richard Gere) devises a rendezvous with a minor Israeli deputy minister (Lior Ashkenazi) at loose ends in the Big Apple. In the unlikely confines of an upscale shoe store, they forge a connection that will have profound ramifications for both men \u2013 for better and for worse.<\/p>\n

The film, which opens today, April 28, marks the first movie that acclaimed writer-director Joseph Cedar has shot in his birthplace. Cedar grew up in Israel from the age of 6, returned to New York to earn his degree in film at New York University and established himself as one of Israel\u2019s finest filmmakers with Time of Favour<\/em>, Campfire<\/em> and a pair of Academy Award nominees for best foreign language film, Beaufort<\/em> and Footnote<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The soft-spoken Cedar allows that he\u2019s exceptionally familiar with both sides of the complicated dynamic between Israel and American Jews.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a messy relationship, which, from my point of view, justifies the film,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s something fascinating about what Israelis think of Americans and what they expect from Americans, and how Americans view Israel, how they view Israelis and what Israel is for their identity. All these things are a big part of my conversations, so the movie allowed me to touch some of the things that are vital to my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cedar has a simple explanation for some of the curious behaviour that takes place at high-level meetings between the countries, illustrated by a scene where Ashkenazi\u2019s character, Micha Eshel, now a figure of greater importance, lectures a U.S. diplomat visiting his Washington, D.C., hotel suite.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that will explain so many of the encounters between Israelis and American politicians is that every time they show up they\u2019re in jet lag,\u201d Cedar said. \u201cEspecially around AIPAC, Israelis come to America, they\u2019re treated like they\u2019re Caesar and they\u2019re a little off-balance because their time zone is all messed up. And they still have to be awake for Israeli things, so they\u2019re sleep-deprived.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some viewers may presume a key plot twist in Norman<\/em> was inspired by the gifts that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu allegedly received from Arnon Milchan, but Cedar finished shooting the film before the news broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat relationship, of an American Jew gifting an Israeli politician, that\u2019s not something new and it\u2019s not something Bibi invented, and it\u2019s not going to go away\u2026. This is the nucleus of what the relationship is about: Americans gift Israelis,\u201d Cedar said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to understand it; I\u2019m not introducing it. Everyone knows that that\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The encounter between Norman and Micha in the shoe store \u2013 on which the movie turns \u2013 is Cedar\u2019s inspired way of conveying the complicated personal and moral aspects of any transaction between Americans and Israelis.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the meetings between Norman and Eshel helped me understand this relationship, and helped me understand this on an individual, human level, not on a geopolitical or policy side,\u201d Cedar explained.<\/p>\n

Cedar also viewed Norman\u2019s character and fate through another prism, that of the so-called \u201ccourt Jews\u201d of past eras.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a set of characteristics of that personality that I\u2019m attracted to,\u201d he said. \u201cI identify with the need to get into a close circle of power, and then the tragedy of being ultimately kicked out because you have no substance on your own. You have no safety net, no one is there to protect you, you don\u2019t have an interest that someone else needs to protect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cedar injects notes of levity and absurdity into Norman\u2019s saga, which stem from the director\u2019s appreciation for the long tradition in movies of characters looking bad for our amusement.<\/p>\n

\u201cNorman is a little less na\u00efve and he is not as pure as [Charlie Chaplin\u2019s] Tramp, but it\u2019s the same kind of situations \u2013 of pushing yourself into places where you\u2019re not invited and being kicked out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCohen\u2019s Advertising Scheme<\/em> and Cohen\u2019s Fire Sale<\/em>, part of a series of [short] films from 1902 to 1907, take place in a shop or right outside the shop\u2019s window, and [involve] a merchant trying to cheat someone and ultimately being the victim of his own scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cedar acknowledged that some contemporary viewers will see something offensive in the Cohen<\/em> films.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting it in the context of the image of the Jew in cinema, these are crazy portrayals of Jews,\u201d Cedar said. \u201cThey\u2019re grotesque. But it\u2019s just a form of comedy. In the \u201930s, if you put that kind of character on the screen, there\u2019s an agenda behind it. In the very beginning, I think it was just funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gere is not an actor one associates with embarrassment and pratfalls, but he is extremely effective here playing a man trying to retain his dignity amid impending disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something about Norman that I thought might connect to this primal need of moviegoers to see someone make a fool out of himself, to humiliate himself more than most people are willing to humiliate themselves,\u201d Cedar said. \u201cIt\u2019s a form of entertainment that I enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another basic element of Norman\u2019s character that Cedar shares, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s being essential to something,\u201d he said. \u201cNorman feels if he\u2019s not essential to other people\u2019s projects, then he has no existence. So, his whole motive is, \u2018How do I become essential to others? How do I create a situation where people are dependent on me?\u2019 I identify with that because I have that. It\u2019s part of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Fox<\/strong> is a writer and film critic living in San Francisco.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richard Gere, left, as Norman Oppenheimer and Lior Ashkenazi as Micha Eshel. In the unlikely confines of an upscale shoe store, the two characters forge a connection that will have profound ramifications. (photo by Niko Tavernise, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics) The marvelous tragicomedy Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[787],"tags":[1200,4330,7014,3597,7013],"class_list":["post-23973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-film","tag-diaspora","tag-israel","tag-joseph-cedar","tag-politics","tag-richard-gere"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}