DVDS

There Are Jews Here

90 min. Brad Lichtenstein & Morgan Elise Johnson, dist. by Seventh Art Releasing, www.7thart.com. 2017. DVD $99; acad. libs. $350. Public performance. SOC SCI
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According to this documentary, one million Jews live in America's small towns, and this film profiles representatives of communities in different regions of the United States: Latrobe, PA; Butte, MT; Laredo, TX; and Dothan, AL. Viewers can easily engage in their stories and struggles of survival, often symbolized by the portentous decline and possible closing of the last remaining synagogue in their town. Dothan has a creative solution: it offers $50,000 to Jewish families willing to relocate to its environs. We see such an urban California family learning to adapt in the small Southern town. What makes this film special and compelling are the nicely woven and overlapping themes of good people trying to maintain a rich heritage amid difficult circumstances.
VERDICT One doesn't have to be Jewish to identify with the obstacles of small-town life. This gently told film is a winner.
Reviewed by Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL , Nov 01, 2017
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