User Reviews

I enjoyed this film when I saw it at the Israeli film festival in The Hague in 2012.

It follows the lives of Miriam and Ben as they manage a photograph shop that is somewhat of an institution in Tel Aviv. This is a shop that sells photographs taken during the early years of Tel Aviv.

The movie is essentially a documentary (a docudrama? a biography?) about the legacy of deceased Israeli photographer Rudi Weissenstein. He is not in the film of course, but we are shown his photos, his shop, his city (both as he saw it and is it is now), the life of his crusty but sharp and adorable widow Miram, his daughter, and his grandson Ben. There are a few surprises and plot developments, so I don't want to give anything away.

The hallmark of a fine film is that it is fascinatingly local and yet tells a good story based on characters you care about and important universal truths. This film did exactly that.

We come to know Ben and Miriam. They are interesting people with a special relationship. There are a lot of laughs in this movie. It led me to reflect on my relationship with the elderly people in my life, past and present. It also led me to think about planning another trip to Tel Aviv, a city I really enjoyed the first time around.

This film is worth seeing.

Life in Stills (2011) is a documentary written and directed by Tamar Tal. Rudi Weissenstein was a famous photographer in Israel. Not only did he run an active photographic studio, but he took pictures of some of the most important events and people in Israeli history.

The film follows several years in the lives of Weissenstein's widow--Miriam--and his grandson--Ben--as they try to make a living selling Weissenstein's photographs while saving their photo shop from demolition.

It's hard to believe that the Israeli government, or the Tel Aviv municipal government, won't declare these negatives and photos a national treasure, and protect them. However, that's not what happened. It was left to Miriam and Ben to protect the negatives and to save their store.

The film had its stronger points and its weaker points. Mirriam Weissenstein, at age 96, is a tough, opinionated woman who has a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. Her grandson is an intelligent and decent guy. However, in my opinion, their interactions weren't quite interesting enough to carry the film.

Rudi Weissenstein was apparently a skilled and artistic photographer. I would have preferred a documentary about his work, with copious illustrations of his photographs. That's not the film that the director made, however. Very few images of the photos themselves appear in the movie.

We saw this film at Rochester's Dryden Theatre, as part of the brilliant Rochester Jewish Film Festival. Festival Director Lori Harter pulled off a double coup. She brought the filmmaker to the Festival, and she arranged for an exhibition of some of Weissenstein's photos at the George Eastman House. My compliments to Harter and to the RJFF Festival Committee for giving viewers both of these opportunities.

This is a film that will work well on DVD, and deserves to be seen. (Right now it has a 7.8 IMDb rating, which is excellent.) I won't say, "See it at all costs." However, when it's available on DVD, or if it shows at a film festival, it's worth a look.