Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Awkward dark comedies is something I do like and this one has some good moments but it's not amazing. Filmmaker Nathan Silver has made some comedy works that I personally weren't very big on and with this new project, Silver direction and some of the writing has improved as Silver's direction felt more stronger and focused. Without feeling too messy and all over the place, the narrative is standard structure but there are some strong comedic tones and moments between characters. Particular the climax dinner scene where the characters are having a strange conversation was the best aspect about the movie.

Throughout, the camerawork and super 16 visual style was an interesting choice and while it does get a little old and unnecessary, there are some decent camerawork. The performances are pretty good as Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly de Leon, and the rest of the cast give great performances with Schwartzman and Kane having good chemistry between.

Despite good performances, the characters, unfortunately, aren't great as I found the characters to be uninteresting at times, a little unlikeable. There are some good humor and some not so good humor and there were some strange editing choices that did bother me a little. Good uses of music, some of the dialogue is kind of a rough and the pacing was solid.

As a whole, the movie is rough on the edges but there are still some really good moments and the chemistry between the main two leads are the best aspects. Overall, decent.

"Cantor Ben" (Jason Schwartzman) has recently become a widower and is struggling to get on with his job working for Rabbi "Bruce" (Robert Smigel) at the Sinai Synagogue. He has one too many chocolate-laced "Mudslingers" in a bar one evening and that leads to an altercation that leads to a reunion with "Carla" (Carol Kane). Though neither recall immediately, it transpires that she used to be his childhood music teacher. Next thing we know, she has turned up at his synagogue where she declares her Jewish heritage and that she wishes to have her Bat Mitzvah. I didn't know that took over year to study and prepare for, and neither did she - but after a bit of convincing, he is cajoled into preparing her and the story picks up the pace as, predictably but not in a predictable fashion, the two start to bond. "Ben" lives with his two mothers - "Judith" (Dolly De Leon) and "Meira" (Caroline Aaron) who are keen on him settling down again with a nice girl, and to that end they try to set him up with the Rabbi's daughter "Gabby" (Madeline Weinstein) but somehow we just know that this solution that would please friends and family alike isn't likely to be the one he goes for. It's not especially innovative, this film - we've seen this sort of drama often before. What this does, though, is entertainingly take a look at the contractions of tradition and at belligerence. It invites us to consider what makes people happy, why age matters, and two dinner scenario towards the end provide for quite an effective conduit for true colours to come out and judgements to be delivered. It's comedic rather than a comedy - there aren't any laugh-out-loud moments; with the writing quite potent at times and an enjoyable rapport developing between the two characters uncertain of their next move. Kane steals this with her delicate delivery of a strong yet venerable persona, and although it does strive to contrive once or twice, it's still quite an enjoyable look at hypocrisy and faith and kosher burgers.

I loved Between the Temples. Not so much for the slightly predictable plot -- twenty minutes in, you get no prizes for guessing where the story is going -- but for the fresh, improvisational camerawork, for the observations, the attention to the sheer physicality and texture of reality, of bodies, of objects. Some sequences are almost Vertovian: the one where the protagonist watches the video of his younger self, in particular: its tempo is so precise, so funny and poetic, it made me want to applaud.

The references to the cinema of the 70s are so pointed that it occasionally borders on the pastiche; it wasn't before the appearance of the first modern car that I became sure I wasn't watching the reedition of a forgotten vintage indie movie. But, heck, it works, in spite of its occasional weaknesses it's fun, fun, fun.