My Father My Lord;

My Father My Lord
David Volach

Plot: This film tells the story of an Orthodox Jewish family, with detailed depiction of the interrelationship amongst the Rabbi (Assi Dayan) his wife (Sharon Hacohen Bar) their only child Menachem(Elan Griff) and God.

It isn't often movie goers get a look into the fine details of a religious education. But with My Father My Lord a code of silent secrecy appears to have been broken and viewers are dealt an emotional blow as they watch the unfolding of this tragic hell, the Ultra Orthodox Judaic teachings.

Any religion that is extreme is, in a broad sense of the word, a cult, with rules and ideas far different from main stream community life. This film, My Father My Lord shows how the religious dictates triumph over the ordinary needs for the expression and nurturing of the young whom they cherish as the source of their immediate enjoyment of life and of their future: the continuance of their extreme understanding of God, of the Torah, of a way of life alien to rest of human kind.


The suffering of the Women in this religious sect, the way they are not allowed to have free access to their children, their secondary role in the Temple and in the intellectual rearing of their children is just a hint of what women in many cultures, and for thousands of years had have to endure.

The detail, the gentle yet persistent depiction of this way of life, where God triumphs over the human needs of the young and men rule is so compelling that this film My Father My God will stay with you long after you see it.

It is an experience well worth the price of the admission.

Linda Z
WBAI Women's Collective