Studio: Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: 2/4/2025
Rating: R
Film Grade: B+
The Story: Grandma Dory survived the Holocaust through a thousand miracles. Upon her death, she willed cousins Benji and David enough money for a guided tour of her Polish homeland. Once decidedly close, the disparate cousins have grown apart in their adult lives and view the trip as a chance to spend some time together while also exploring their grandmother’s roots.
My Take: Written, directed, and acted by Jesse Eisenberg, it was an unexpected pleasure to watch. Part humorous travelogue, part drama, it’s a touching story of two distinctly different cousins reconnecting with both their own history and the history of their family. Eisenberg plays the reserved family man, who downs anti-OCD pills to maintain a put-together façade. Kieran Culkin garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance as cousin Benji, a man who still lives in his mom’s basement, has no plan for his future, and alternately charms and aggravates everyone with his lively, outgoing persona. It’s a remarkable performance, likely to remind you of at least one person in your own life as you both cringe and laugh at his heartfelt/heartless words and actions. You’re equally likely to want to hug him or hit him at any given time.
Joining them are a small, diverse group of fellow tourists. That’s a good thing here, since it’s not superficial diversity for the purpose of ticking off checklist boxes, but rather to present varied thoughts and perspectives from characters with their own reasons for taking the trip. The comradery of the group starts a bit shaky, but grows over the time they spend together, each appreciating the rest through their shared experience.
The film moves along at a brisk pace, never feeling stale. There are some tense moments that are underpinned by themes of guilt and grief that have grown out of what it means to have survived a holocaust. Heady stuff that offers food for thought, but it it’s not handled so heavily that it bogs it down into a dark morass. Humor is character-driven, not physical slapstick, so it doesn’t take the underlying serious themes too lightly. The movie is primarily about families, so it’s not long before it snaps back to that angle.
If there’s a fault to it, it may move too briskly. Similar to that final day of vacation, where the prior days feel like a blur, and you can’t believe that it’s already over. Perhaps that’s intentional, mirroring the plot, but it would have been good to have another ten minutes or so with the cousins and tour group before it’s time to say goodbye.
Visuals: Shot digitally, the film features a natural look, with outdoor scenes looking sunny and vibrant. Indoor shots convey the look and feel of their surroundings, which vary over the course of the trip. It has an overall pleasant look that fits the story.
Audio: The basic 5.1 DTS-HDMA mix is exactly what you would expect for this kind of movie. There’s nothing that stands out in either a good or bad way. The musical score predominantly consists classical pieces by classical Polish composer, Frédéric Chopin, a natural choice for the country they’re touring. Dialog is easy to understand throughout the movie.
Special Features: The bonus short talks about the making of the film and offers insight into its development. Well worth watching, if you enjoyed the film and want to know what went into creating the story and how it was made.
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Final Verdict: We knew nothing about this movie going into it but were both surprised at just how much we ended up liking it. Eisenberg earned an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay and it’s easy to see why. It weaves a tight path between funny, snappy dialog and deeper, thought-provoking subject matters while remaining entertaining from beginning to end.
Highly recommended for anyone looking for something outside of the ordinary that isn’t afraid to mix humor with a somber subject. It’s a title that we’ll be adding to our collection.
Fun Fact: One of the reasons that the movie feels so natural is that it’s based on Eisenberg’s own aunt, who inspired him to take his own trip to Poland years earlier.
Warning: The trailer contains course language and some spoilers.
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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