the rabbi ' s cat ( film )
inspired by sfar’s jewish heritage, “the rabbi’s cat” tells the story of a rabbi, his daughter, and their talking cat .
cartoon cat: it’s difficult to summarize this fanciful story of a sphynx cat with no name who is known around 1920’s algiers as “the rabbi’s cat” because the story follows several different paths. the cat is loyal to the rabbi but especially to the rabbi’s daughter .
the rabbi’s cat (le chat du rabbin) was named best animated film at the césar awards .
families can talk about what the cat teaches the rabbi and what the rabbi teaches the cat. how do they change each other' s lives ?
lots of plot with this cat the animation in' the rabbi' s cat' is a welcome throwback — there’s enough story here to cover five movies, but the rabbi’s cat stuffs everything into 89 minutes .
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sfar, joann. the rabbi’s cat. new york: pantheon, 2005. print .
danish film darling lars von trier' s melancholia has seven nominations for this year' s european film awards, including for best european film .
not wanting to be separated from the rabbi’s daughter, the cat wishes to be converted to judaism, but the rabbi isn’t sure that can be done .
the rabbi’s cat 2 by joann sfar, translated by alexis siegel: after the success of sfar’s rabbi’s cat, along with receiving the prestigious jury prize, the eccentric and entertaining gray cat returns to his usual antics and journeys, while a strong, educating, and meaningful story surrounds him. the rabbi’s cat 2 continues on, and increases the humor and fun, but also the fascinating story of this strange cat in north africa. in the first story, while the rabbi is away on his own journey, his cat
we’d love your help. let us know what’s wrong with this preview of the rabbi' s cat 2 by joann sfar .
this is fine with the rabbi until the cat eats the family’s parrot and starts to speak. the rabbi then realizes the cat is a little too affectionate with his daughter and fills her head with strange notions (the cat can read as well as speak. )
a french animated film about the unusual quest of a rabbi, a skeikh, and a talking cat to discover the unity of peoples .
the cat is supportive of the rabbi as he takes french dictation tests to remain in his position .
a french animated film about the unusual quest of a rabbi, a skeikh, and a talking cat to discover the essential unity of life .
the story of a rabbi and his talking cat, a sharp - tongued feline philosopher brimming with scathing humor and a less than pure love for the rabbi' s teenage daughter .
the rabbi is reading the story of creation to the cat, and the cat says that the world is billions of years old and that the creation story can' t be taken literally. there is something very humorous about a rabbi being lectured on science by a talking cat .
the ending cheapens the main character and weakens the film’s commitment to the importance of workplace organizing .
his second film is an animated picture taken from his comic book
the rabbi' s cat
and will be released next year. it tells the story of a cat that gains the power of speech after swallowing a parrot, and converses with a rabbi who teaches him the ways of the torah .
like the title character, the makers of the rabbi' s cat follow their noses wherever a new scent leads. their eternal curiosity buoys this cat, then impairs it somewhat, but redeems it by the end .
the animated film presents a philosophical debate involving a thoughtful rabbi and a disputatious feline. their costar: 1930s africa .
if there is a french animated film about a cat you want to see, pick this one over the more lauded a cat in paris. while it may lack the more stylized elements of the previously mentioned along with its terrific jazz / blues score, the rabbi' s cat makes up in spades with plot and philosophy of the world .
ozon' s provocative film can do much to improve attitudes towards lgbti people .
the man wishes to find a mythical jewish holy city in africa and so the rabbi and cat and others set out on the adventure .
the rabbi' s cat explores themes of religion and philosophy and why people should attempt to coexist in peace while respecting one another' s personal differences in beliefs and politics .
the film, inspired by gibran’s poetry, is a delightful mix of animation styles from some of the world’s top animators .
set in algeria in the 1920s, a rabbi' s cat who learns how to speak after swallowing the family parrot expresses his desire to convert to judaism .
a leading figure in france’s comic book scene, this accomplished artist owes his fame to his comic book series the rabbi’s cat, dungeon and little vampire. his love for film naturally led him behind the camera with the animated adaption of the rabbi’s cat, but also with the very personal gainsbourg: a heroic life, which he presented as being the transposition of his comic book world in the film
with puppets, songs, poetry and costumes – to illustrate my personal vision of gainsbourg’s fantasies
.
the rabbi' s cat is an entertaining, surreal animated film from france about a pet cat that amazingly gains the ability to speak after eating a parrot, and uses his voice to announce his goal of converting to judaism in order to gain the approval of the rabbi to stay by the side of his daughter, whom the cat has a physical attraction to. sounds pretty strange, right? it totally is, and that' s one of the aspects of this film that worked so well for me .
cat in paris, 2011 (oscar nominee, best animated film) headed the oscar campaign, and also consulted on the release .
joann sfar' s beloved, humorous, and wise talking cat is back for more beautifully illustrated adventures in algiers and across africa in the 1930s. while the rabbi is away, his cat tags along with malka of the lions (the rabbi' s enigmatic cousin), who roams the desert with his ferocious - on - demand lion. some believe malka to be a pious jew, others think he' s a shrewd womanizer, but the cat will be the one to discover the surprising truth. back in algiers, the rabbi' s daughter, zlabya, and her new husband fill the house with their fighting, while the city around them fills with a rising tide of anti - semitism. on a whim, the rabbi' s cat, the rabbi, a sheikh (also a cousin of the rabbi), and a very misplaced russian painter set out on a fantastic journey (even encountering a young reporter named tintin in the congo) in search of an african jerusalem. it turns out to be very fortuitous that the rabbi' s cat is not just a talking cat, but a multilingual talking cat .
sheik mohammed sfar' s talking donkey disappears as they follow along the rabbi in his journey. he later reappears following the tank, than disappears again along the film .
i really loved the alternating visual styles! minus one star because i wish the rabbi' s daughter had been in the film more, she is a great character .
premiered in french cinemas on 1st june 2011, the rabbi’s cat has been well received by critics, and attracted more than 500, 000 cinema - goers and awarded in the last annecy international animated film festival the prize for best feature film; it was also nominated for the 24th european film awards, presented last december in berlin, also in the category of best animation feature film, although the award was finally given to chico & rita .
the rabbi' s cat .
no mpaa rating; in french with english subtitles. running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. at selected theaters .
joann sfar' s beloved, humorous, and wise talking cat is back for more beautifully illustrated adventures in algiers and across africa in the 1930s. while the rabbi is away, his cat tags along with malka of the lions (the rabbi' s enigmatic cousin), who roams the desert with his ferocious - on - demand lion. some believe malka to be a pious jew, others think he' s a shrewd womanizer, but the cat will be the one to discover the surprising truth. back in algiers, the rabbi' s daughter, zlabya, and her new
awards: nomination au prix du festival du film d' animation d' annecy 2011 * nomination aux european film awards 2011 .
the rabbi' s cat is a clever and episodic cartoon for adults. the cat of a jewish family in algerian family, one day miraculously begins to speak. the rabbi is scared and seeks out the advise of his rabbi. his mistress, zlabia, is charmed by speech. the cat for his part, decides to woo his mistress and her father by getting a bar mitzah. a wacky roadtrip later follows. the movie is charming, if lackadaisical, much like a fairytale .
from there, the story flowers in several directions, with a series of episodic events: the cat demands a bar mitzvah and offends the rabbi’s teacher; an escaping russian jew turns up in a shipment of russian books; the rabbi’s cousin and his pet lion come to visit; the rabbi and various associates mount a months - long quest for a fabled african jerusalem, supposedly the homeland of all blacks and jews. the story sprawls, but the perky tone, sharp dialogue, and easy comedy keep the film moving, and the eponymous cat provides a strong central point of view. like the story itself, he’s protean—devoted to the rabbi’s voluptuous daughter, loyal to the rabbi himself, and generous toward those in need, like the russian painter, but also sly, vain, self - serving, and amoral. in other words, a cat .
just look at the parking lot ...
- - rabbi scott
there’s also a man shipped in a box; the rabbi’s cousin, who travels with a lion; and simmering colonial tension between the french and algerians .
although the movie' s many subplots are interesting, a few characters seem unnecessarily introduced - - like the rabbi' s desert journeyman cousin
lion malka ,
who figures prominently in the books but has little to do in the movie. but the cat' s myriad observations about religion and life are both educational and entertaining (and occasionally hilarious). and audiences will learn as they' re sucked into a story with messages that are still relevant - - particularly the relationship between the rabbi and his muslim cousin. this cat speaks the truth, and the rabbi' s cat is an animated adventure worth reading subtitles to see .
joann sfar' s beloved, humorous, and wise talking cat is back for more beautifully illustrated adventures in algiers and across africa in the 1930s. while the rabbi is away, his cat tags along with malka of the lions (the rabbi' s enigmatic cousin), who roams the desert with his ferocious - on - demand lion. some believe malka to be a pious jew, others think he' s a shrewd womani
i have to say, this film doesn’t get the love it deserves. i think the lebowski fans will pick up on this film after a few tries .
with its winding plotline, unique artistic style, and distinct characters, the rabbi’s cat is not the average comic book. the story follows the lives of a rabbi, a rabbi’s cat, and a rabbi’s daughter. but in actuality, the novel chronicles a much larger narrative, transcending above the individual realm into the philosophical, historical, and universal. rooted in a specific time and place—algeria and paris in the 1930’s—the rabbi’s cat encapsulates an entire jewish world of the past and simultaneously questions and explores the very essence (or lack thereof) of jewishness in the present. a close investigation into the narration, artwork, characters, and plot will shed light on the novel’s impactful claims about the fluidity of jewish history and identity. through an emphasis on geography, a continual variation of artistic style, and the diversity of jewish characters, sfar paints a picture of jewishness characterized by historical environment, internal difference and exclusion, and impending cultural loss .
sfar speaks about film - making very much as a learning process for him. he' s very modest about the film, and despite critical acclaim in france remains focussed on improving .
set in pre - world war ii algeria, the rabbi' s cat is based on director joann sfar' s graphic novels and follows the fantastical tale of a rabbi (voiced by maurice benichou) and his lovely daughter (hafsia herzi), whose cat gains the ability to talk after swallowing a parrot. with his powers of speech, the cat (francois morel) begins to question whether he, like his master and mistress, is jewish. after discovering a young russian jew hidden in a shipping crate, the rabbi and his cat follow the strapping zionist across africa - - with the help of a distant cousin who' s a muslim scholar - - to find the african jews of ethiopia .
really 3. 5 stars the talking cat with the big ears who offers insightful commentary on his rabbi master and life in algeria in the early 20th century is back. the rabbi' s daughter is fighting with her husband (also a rabbi), and the cat is quite happy with that. it means more snuggles from his mistress, zlabya. of course, the talking cat also has a couple of adventures. first he and a snake tag along with the famous malka and his lion on a trek around the desert. then, a stowaway russian jew show
the rabbi adheres to jewish law but considers many other perspectives as well. he respects his distant cousin who' s a muslim, and he' s willing to teach his talking cat about judaism, even though his mentor and rabbi tells him it' s a bad idea. zlabya is a strong female character, as is the russian' s african wife, both of whom state their mind with conviction. the sfar cousin, like the rabbi, is open minded and abhors violence for violence' s sake .
straight out of the american film market (afm), we’ve got your first look at french director / author / comic book artist joann sfar’s feature film adaptation of his beloved graphic novel the rabbi’s cat. the french animated film, from one of the most celebrated artists of the new wave of franco - belgian comics, is a tale about a rabbi who has his hands full, and sets off on an adventure to a mythical city alongside some affable companions which include his talking cat. sfar co - directed and wrote the hand - drawn 2d animated film, his second feature after this year’s gainsbourg. don’t let the logline fool you, as his books are famous for diving into the headier themes of life. hit the jump to check out the images, as well as an official synopsis .
sfar made his directorial debut with “gainsbourg: vie heroique, ” a 2010 feature film mixing live action and animation, about the iconic french singer serge gainsbourg. the film won three cesar awards (france’s equivalent to the oscar). he is best - known for his comic book series “the rabbi’s cat” which was adapted into an animated feature and was co - directed by sfar. it won a cesar award .
loaded with all the baggage one would expect from an artsy and religiously - themed french animated feature, the rabbi' s cat sports just enough quirkiness to remain afloat. based on a comic book series about a rabbi, his daughter, and their cat who have various adventures and philosophical discussions - see, the cat sporadically gains the ability to talk - this film version spends the first three - quarters with a lazy setup, establishing relationships and introducing various eccentric individuals, before it gets anywhere near actual adventures. the characters are charming, including the querulous cat whose opinions tend to lean agnostic and often serve as the progenitor of numerous theological musings throughout the film. animation is an independent, thin - lined and low - framerate pastiche reminiscent of…
the cow that wanted to be a hamburger 2010. animated short film shortlisted to 10
synopsis: based on a comic book series by co - director joann sfar, this is an imaginative tale about a rabbi’s cat (voiced by françois morel) who finds he is able to converse with humans and joins in their adventures while holding fast onto his love for the rabbi’s daughter (voiced by hafsia herzi) .
brave ,
frankenweenie ,
hotel transylvania ,
paranorman ,
rise of the guardians ,
the pirates! band of misfits ,
the rabbi' s cat
and
wreck - it ralph
have earned nominations for animated film of the year for the annie awards .
this contains the fourth and fifth chapters of sfar' s continued tales of the rabbi' s cat who gained, and then lost, the gift of speech. like the latter half of the first book, these chapters focus less on the cat than on the stories and doings of the humans he travels with. racism and religious intolerance are dealt with here, but again, the philosophical dueling of the cat is missing. i didn' t find this book as engaging as the earlier volume .
best and worst advice given: the worst advice: “this has nothing to do with comics. ” in fact, it has everything to do with comics. the best advice: “an animated film develops exactly the same way as a live - action film. ” an animated film does develop exactly the same way as a live - action film !
the 40th annie award nominations were announced this morning (dec. 3) and it looks like asifa voters decided to spread the wealth among many of this year’s animated features and tv shows. in the crowded best animated feature category, eight pictures—pixar’s brave, disney’s frankenweenie and wreck - it ralph, sony animaton’s hotel transylvania, focus features / laika’s paranorman, dreamworks’ rise of the guardians, sony / aardman’s the pirates! band of misfits and gkids’ the rabbi’s cat —received nominations .
the frisky kitty at the heart of “the rabbi’s cat” — an endearingly loopy animated feature from joann sfar and antoine delesvaux — is hairless, bunny - eared and intent on preparing for his bar mitzvah. we know this because the cat, after gobbling his master’s parrot, acquires a voice (provided by françois morel). and hardly ever stops using it .
although the cat has little interest in the story of creation, declaring the biblical version
ridiculous ,
he becomes convinced that as a jewish cat he must have a bar mitzvah. at a loss for what to do, the rabbi goes to his teacher for counsel, but this conservative elder recommends drowning the cat for his vanity and lack of respect for essential jewish belief .
another distinct component of judaism articulated by the rabbi’s cat is an anxiety of loss, which proves to be the consequence of excluding diverse modes of jewish identity. through symbolism, sfar demonstrates how the loss of algerian jewish culture materializes through colonial hegemony and an insistence on the uniformity of identity. starting on page 29, the rabbi’s cat describes a dream. in his dream, the rabbi tells him that zlabya is dead. water rises in the image, ultimately enveloping the cat, the rabbi, and the entire world they live in. of course, this dream foreshadows both the rabbi and the cat’s emotions when zlabya marries jules, a french jew, and moves away from home. to better comprehend the dream, we must understand zlabya as a symbol for the cultural world of algerian jews in the 1930’s. in this dream, that culture is dead. zlabya is not at her piano, in her kitchen, or reading her books, which are all locations of cultural creation (33). now, the rabbi’s faith is meaningless, as he says, “don’t give me that garbage, i know it only too well” (30). in the bottom left panel on page 31, the rabbi lumbers through a diminished, small, empty, and colorless city—the algeria that once shaped his entire identity. the final two images of the dream are narrated: “she is in her tomb. and we’re not allowed go inside” (33). this scene of exclusion echoes other moments in the book when certain forms of judaism are rejected, like when the rabbi’s rabbi will not convert the rabbi’s cat. this parallel is furthered by that rabbi’s comment that the cat “should be drowned, ” since the dream scene takes place under water (14). another similar exclusionary episode occurs when zlabya is in her bedroom with her new husband, jules. she throws the cat across the room and slams the door in his face. just like in her tomb in the dream, zlabya is sealed off and inaccessible. these comparable moments articulate the true threat posed by excluding diverse jewish identities—the loss of an entire jewish cultural world .
with seven nods, the lars von trier film is unlikely to go home empty handed .
debuted at the toronto international film festival to critical acclaim, with the audience also clapping along to the songs .
a book about a rabbi’s cat sounds like it would be cute and whimsical rather than dealing with any serious themes. if you wanted a cute and whimsical book about a cat, there are plenty out there. this is not one of them. joann sfar, who wrote these rabbi’s cat graphic novels, is an award winning author precisely because of his themes. communication is a central theme of this novel. there is a russian character who isn’t understood by the other humans when he first arrives, yet the russian and the
rabbi sfar (voiced by maurice benichou) lives with his voluptuous daughter zlabya (hafsia herzi) and their mischievous cat. after eating the family' s talking parrot, the feline (francois morel) starts talking in human language, much to the amazement of the rabbi who suddenly finds himself having to answer questions about god and faith .
based on a series of french comic books, the film features voice work by mathieu amalric, who played a nemesis of james bond in 2008’s “quantum of solace. ” the movie received a cesar, the french version of the oscar, as the best animated film of 2011, and received a nomination in the same category at the european film awards .
it is a good thing that the rabbi' s cat develops the power of speech when he does, as he soon has to defend himself from charges of having eaten the family bird. but to zlabya, the rabbi' s daughter, the cat is even more adorable now. not so much to the rabbi, as the cat, being able to count also and realizing he is old enough, begins to pester the rabbi to have his very own bar mitzvah. however, the rabbi soon has bigger problems to worry about like having to pass a french test in order to be recertified which the cat promises to help with. considering that talking animals have been around as long as there have been sound movies, it does seem more than a little strange that it has taken until very recently with
the rabbi' s cat
to fully explore what that would mean in the real world, especially in this timeless algeria where religions intersect and co - exist mostly peacefully. (if i had to guess, i would have to say this might be the 30' s with the 1925 citroen playing a part, and after the russian revolution but no mention of the holocaust .) but that' s not all as this very entertaining film makes great use of hand drawn animation in a variety of styles to detail its world, aided by a very cool soundtrack .
the cat too contributes to the talkathon, having received the power of speech after devouring the family parrot. voiced by françois morel, he' s a lovable rationalist who engages the rabbi in debates on religious precepts but nonetheless wants very much to be bar mitzvahed .
inspirations: my father’s side of the family are arabic - speaking algerian jews, whose interactions are an inexhaustible source of drama, humor and reflection. the cat is my actual cat—he is on my desk at the moment as i speak to you. the rabbi’s daughter resembles my grandmother, esther malka. malka of the lions is one my great uncles who was a lion tamer in the atlas mountains .
at last i have the sequel to joann sfar’s graphic novel, the rabbi’s cat. in his sequel, sfar once again places his readers and his talking cat in the heart of the jewish community in 1930′s algeria. the cast of characters includes the rabbi, his footloose and mystical cousin malka of the lions, a suspected golem who turns out to be a (temporarily comatose) russian painter, a catholic priest, an arab prince, a former slave who doesn’t know where she comes from, and a wandering sheik. if that soun
the title character of
the rabbi' s cat
is not your everyday cartoon fluffball. he' s scrawny, apparently hairless and unapologetically disputatious. the animated world he inhabits is no kid - friendly adventure but a philosophical quarrel in the form of a frenetic road trip through 1930s africa .
great observation, paul. this film is as much about being jewish as it is anything else. i would agree that larry having his land encroached upon certainly has meaning in the film beyond larry’s personal personal frustration .
chico and rita, 2011 (oscar nominee, best animated film) consulted on the release .
la femme et le tgv, 2016 (oscar nominee. live action short film )
chen kaige’s the promise, 2005 (china’s foreign language oscar submission) golden globe nominee .
when i thought the rabbi’s cat 2 couldn’t get any better than the first one, i was wrong! in the end, nothing is as it seems – simply look at malka of the lions, the rabbi’s cousin. the cat who is still nameless regains his speech and suddenly speaks a variety of languages, which we will see comes in handy. although he’s often to hold his mouth shut. how familiar does that sound? comparing it to our modern society? what about a nice reminder of how easily we judge others, people who are differen
a cartoon about a cat who wants to become jewish will face off against major hollywood competition at one of the animation industry’s biggest awards shows .
the cat is back, and this time, he is in search of the lost jerusalem. no matter what adventures the cat and his rabbi may have, beneath the surface of the adventures there is sly and not so sly commentary on issues that were relevant then and, as sfar gently points out, relevant today. yes, tintin and his
moron
dog are made fun of, but watch for the story of the british colonialist, lost in a world that has passed him by and made him foreign to everyone and everything. overall, rabbi' s cat 2
the second half of the film concerns a russian jewish refugee who escapes to algiers after being the victim of a pogrom .
i knew i wanted to work in animation when: in the ’80s, i discovered jan svankmajer. inspired by him, i got a film camera and made my own animated surrealist short film in my basement. as soon as i got the film back from the lab, i was smitten !
sfar captures the contours of a certain historical moment in algerian jewish culture. he achieves this by endowing geography with significant agency. the power of time and place in the rabbi’s cat reveals the author’s deeper convictions about jewishness. in her essay “borderlands, ” marla harris writes, “jewish identity for sfar is not unchanging and ahistorical, but is shaped by specific social, political, and geographical environments” (183). this understanding is evident in many moments in the novel. on page 16, the rabbi’s cat asks the rabbi’s rabbi for a jewish conversion. on this page alone, readers see the cat from five different perspectives—from behind him, in front of him, under him, next to him, and from far away. in each of these panels, the image of the city outside of the window is more and more highlighted. the building seen through the window is a reddish color with a grid - like pattern. the pattern is reflected onto the trunk the cat sits upon in the top left frame, and it almost completely covers the panel in the bottom left, in which the rabbi tells the cat that his “love of god isn’t sincere” (16). in this way, the cat’s physical environment literally surrounds him. the next panel, on the bottom right of the page, breaks away from the previous scenery. suddenly, readers see a panoramic view of the greater city, with a clothesline, a mosque, perhaps a synagogue, homes on a hill, and a wide, blue sky. the cat, narrating, tells us, “i never said anything about love of god” (16). this statement of disbelief in god is what eventually prevents the cat from conversion. but with such an important statement, the reader does not even see the cat’s face. rather, we see his city. in this crucial moment, the climax in this discussion of faith, geography moves from the story’s background to its foreground. this page illustrates sfar’s understanding that one’s most intimate beliefs and identities are shaped by the geographical environment .
this review was originally published at the next best book club blog. to see the version of my review that has images from the graphic novel, please click the link! to prepare for this book review, i re - read the rabbi’s cat (read my review at tnbbc here). it was just as marvelous and charming as the first time i read it, if not more so. the cat’s facial expressions are funny and thoughtful while he discusses religion with his master and other jews in algiers in the 1930s. random “cat moments” pop
le chat du rabbin is a movie starring mathieu amalric, hafsia herzi, and françois damiens. set in algeria in the 1920s, a rabbi' s cat who learns how to speak after swallowing the family parrot expresses his desire to convert to judaism .
this french animated film is charming but a bit mature for young eyes, so parents may wish to view this film first before setting their kids in front of netflix to view .
camera q & a: hampton fancher on his l. a. film and tv career
along with producer antoine delesvaux and the ceo of ateliers granovsky, dimitri granovsky, joann sfar will chat with the audience about the progress he’s made on his upcoming film .
including “wreck - it ralph, ” “brave” and “paranorman” for the top prize at february’s annie awards, handed out by the international animated film association. in addition to a nomination in the best animated feature category, the film has also earned a directing nod for joann sfar .
proudest of: since i am unable to choose a section of the film that i prefer (screenplay, set design, animation, directing, editing, musical direction, etc .), i believe that i’ve succeeded with my film. it’s the first time that this has happened to me…! it’s also the reason why i have a particular fondness for the artists and technicians that made this film with me .
“ adventures in zambezia ” “brave” “ delhi safari ” “dr. seuss’ the lorax” “frankenweenie” “ from up on poppy hill ” “ hey krishna ” “hotel transylvania” “ice age continental drift” “ a liar’s autobiography: the untrue story of monty python’s graham chapman ” “madagascar 3: europe’s most wanted” “ the mystical laws ” “ the painting ” “paranorman” “the pirates! band of misfits” “ the rabbi’s cat ” “rise of the guardians” “ secret of the wings ” “ walter & tandoori’s christmas ” “wreck - it ralph” “ zarafa “
the cat is a very insightful and intelligent individual, and he is consistently more intelligent than his human companions .
in this volume' s first story, cat travels with malka and his lion, observing how their role in the world is changing as they age and how they might cope with the changes. cat is not his prickly, philosophical self, and the story could' ve been told by any cat. the second story sees cat accompany new and returning characters on a quest to a mythic religious city. there' s much more adventure and philosophic wonder, as well as satisfying developments in the series' larger plot. neither story feels a
roger ebert became film critic of the chicago sun - times in 1967. he is the only film critic with a star on hollywood walk of fame and was named honorary life member of the directors' guild of america. he won the lifetime achievement award of the screenwriters' guild, and honorary degrees from the american film institute and the university of colorado at boulder .
middle east audiences will not have to wait too long to see the film for themselves – it will be screened at the closing night gala of the ajyal youth film festival in doha, which runs from december 1 to 6 .
the coens also use the theme of dichotomous thinking to show how we never really know the true nature of things. this theme is most prominently featured in the film’s opening parable with the dual (and dueling) perspectives of velvel and dora—those of the rational and the
serious
( the film’s synonym for
pious
) —and in the lyrical contradiction of the verse
when the truth is found to be lies
of jefferson airplane’s
somebody to love
that is featured multiple times in the film. it is also found in larry’s realization that
everything that i thought was one way turns out to be another ,
his revelation that the erotic film he once saw
wasn’t even erotic, though it was in a way ,
and in the way that rabbi marshak refers to danny as a boy immediately after the bar mitzvah that made him a man. this theme of dichotomous thinking plays heavily into the film’s climax, specifically in the way the ending will be perceived by the individual perspectives of those who see it .
france’s favorite kosher kitty gets a big screen 3d grooming in the rabbi’s cat (le chat du rabbin), author and co - director joann sfar ’s adaptation of his highly successful comic book series. though this gorgeously animated affair showcases the artist’s freewheeling style and colorful arabesque imagery, its rambling episodic structure is not quite the cat’s meow, even if it remains a thoroughly enjoyable take on judaism in early 20 th century north africa. gallic tykes will lap up this second sfar outing (after last year’s serge gainsbourg biopic), which should find sufficient bookings and fest play following an international premiere at taormina .
subscribe to trailers: urltoken subscribe to coming soon: urltoken the rabbi' s cat official us release trailer # 1 (2011) - animated movie hd set in algeria in the 1920s, a rabbi' s cat who learns how to speak after swallowing the family parrot expresses his desire to convert to judaism. cast: mathieu amalric: urltoken director: antoine delesvaux antoine delesvaux joann sfar producer: antoine delesvaux clement oubrerie antoine delesvaux joann sfar writer: sandrina jardel joann sfar editor: maryline monthieux cinematographer: jérôme brézillon composer: olivier daviaud
february 25, 2016: the american humane society has announced the winners of their annual pawscars. cat winners include buttercup from the hunger games for best repurring cat performance and a mention of the cast of cinderella, including lucifer, for best ensemble performance. congratulations to this year' s winners !
the 24th european film awards will take place in berlin on december 3. they are run by the european film academy, which has its secretariat in berlin. this is the first time the ceremony will be held back in berlin since 2007 .
the other five nominees for the top prize are michel haznavicius' s the artist, the dardenne brothers' the kid with a bike, tom hooper' s the king' s speech, aki kaurismaki' s le havre and susanne bier' s in a better world. each has four nominations .
the great delight of the first book was the cat' s arguments with humans about religion, but he' s far too quiet here, letting the humans do too much talking. also too many # # scary muslims # #. there' s a few good lines though, and sfar' s art is always rad .
maybe – or maybe pixar’s brave, sony’s hotel transylvania, or disney’s wreck - it ralph will be among the final nominees. today, the academy announced the twenty - one features which have been submitted for consideration in the animated feature film category. five will be selected for nomination .
the film ends up defining loïe fuller less by her innovations than by her willingness to suffer for her art .
on the aspect of the movie he’s proudest of: i’m pleased about the spirit of the film. the attitude and the way the movie approaches life is very joyous. it seems like it has a great energy and sense of fun .
if zlabya represents the diverse algerian jewish culture, shaped by historical geography, that the rabbi has known and nourished all his life, then her marriage to jules represents this culture fading away. this notion is furthered in sfar’s depiction of geography. first, the detailed and colorful world of algeria becomes messy, broken, abstract, and almost entirely disintegrated in the background of the panels on pages 92 and 93, when the cat narrates his anxiety about zlabya’s marriage to jules. with each close up of the rabbi’s cat, both the background and the cat’s appearance increasingly lose form. connecting this to the symbolism of geography and physical appearance discussed before, it is clear that in these pages, the cat’s cultural world and his familiar individual identity are melting away. much of the rabbi’s cat’s underwater dream is also echoed in the geography of paris. in fact, on page 104 in the middle left panel, the heavy rain skews the figures, so they appear to be drowning underwater as well. paris is depicted as grey, wet, and cold, imitating the muted colors underwater in the dream. throughout these scenes, zlabya’s bright red clothing serves as a symbol of their lasting algerian culture, but even this fades away. on page 107, all of the characters, including zlabya, are completely grey, as if they have absorbed the geography surrounding them. this occurs only when the rabbi decides to leave zlabya, who says “let him go” (107). indeed, zlabya feels anxious about her cultural difference from jules and his family, so she purchases parisian clothing on shabbat, representing the east’s gradual adoption of western jewish culture under colonial pressure .
“what a phenomenal film, thank you salma hayek for making this happen, ” said mehreen khawaja .
although the 3d boost adds little to what’s essentially old - fashioned, 2d animation, it makes some of the film’s more vivid moments stand out, with certain scenes (including a disturbing itchy & scratchy - like recreation of a russian pogrom) remaining embedded in one’s memory .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the announcements monday for the 40th annual annie awards, presented by the international animated film society, asifa - hollywood, encompass 30 categories including film, tv production, commercials, short subjects, video games, student films and honorary and achievement awards .
when i thought the rabbi’s cat 2 couldn’t get any better than the first one, i was wrong! in the end, nothing is as it seems – simply look at malka of the lions, the rabbi’s cousin. the cat who is still nameless regains his speech and suddenly speaks a variety of languages, which we will see comes in handy. although he’s often to hold his mouth shut. how familiar does that sound? comparing it to our modern society? what about a nice reminder of how easily we judge others, people who are different? religions? and how thin the line is between double standards and racism? great portion of history, culture and humour !
one of the many things i like about sfar' s rabbi' s cat works is how he depicts people from various cultures getting along as friends, disagreeing with each other, discussing their different faiths, arguing and agreeing and in the end, being adults about it. there are some fanatic characters which are there to highlight the more reasonable ones, too. the titular cat is there to philosophise and argue with the best of them. this is a magical realism series - apart from the talking animals (the shi
fatma al remaihi, the acting chief executive of the doha film institute, said: “it has most of the elements of something that you would want to represent doha film institute, with the voices from the region, with the quality it was made in and using the local talent that we have. ”
in reading your essay, i’m led to believe that we might not be in as much disagreement as you think in regards to the quote you cited. i definitely believe that the ending of the film is a fitting one. what i meant with the statement quoted above was that the plot doesn’t really resolve itself in a typical manner, which is why a lot of people come away from the film frustrated. however, the ending completely resolves the film on a thematic level. plot - wise, the ending is ambiguous. the film doesn’t offer the “why” to the major questions posed in the last two scenes. it’s that ambiguity that ties the entire film together as “a parable about the unknown and how we all must accept the not - knowing through whatever method makes the most sense to us. ”
urltoken [ return ] [ return ] a compilation of two albums telling two quite different stories. the first ,
heaven on earth
, is a bit of a meditation on stories and telling them through the mysterious figure of malka, the rabbi' s cousin whose companion is an aging lion, set against the real background of the rise of an anti - semitic regime in algiers in the mid - 1930s. in the second ,
africa' s jerusalem
, the rabbi, his cat and friends set off to explore their continent
subscribe to trailers: urltoken subscribe to coming soon: urltoken like us on facebook: urltoken follow us on twitter: urltoken the rabbi' s cat us release trailer 1 (2012) - animated movie hd set in algeria in the 1920s, a rabbi' s cat who learns how to speak after swallowing the family parrot expresses his desire to convert to judaism. cast: mathieu amalric: urltoken director: antoine delesvaux antoine delesvaux joann sfar producer: antoine delesvaux clement oubrerie antoine delesvaux joann sfar writer: sandrina jardel joann sfar editor: maryline monthieux cinematographer: jérôme brézillon composer: olivier daviaud
the film’s plot centers around not only larry’s suffering but, more importantly, his search for answers. that search eventually leads to larry’s meeting with the rabbis of his synagogue and to his assumption that the suffering he is enduring is all part of god’s will. as larry puts it ,
the boss isn’t always right, but he’s always the boss .
but the coens find the absurdity in our inability to understand the nature of our existence and pepper the film with clues about how the will of god isn’t so abundantly clear. when larry meets with rabbi scott he is told that his problems stem from the fact that he’s simply lost the ability to see hashem (the jewish word for
the name
of god) in the world. the scene is played for laughs as rabbi scott instructs larry to look out the window and see hashem in the parking lot, a ridiculous notion for a rational man such as larry. later in the film, before he goes to visit the second rabbi, rabbi nachtner, larry is involved in a car accident at precisely the same moment as the car accident that kills sy. the coens edit together the scenes of larry and sy driving toward their impending crashes in a way that confuses the relationship between the two, making it seem as though the two scenes are connected before larry’s crash abruptly signals the false logic behind such a connection. the absurdity of larry’s question to rabbi nachtner—
is hashem trying to tell me that sy ableman is me, or that we are all one, or something
—further emphasizes the notion that if you go looking for a message from god you’re going to find one whether it actually exists or not .
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sfar and his co - director amplify the story with a succession of visits to the rabbi' s house by guests and encounters with strangers. the rabbi hosts his cousin malka of the lions (jean - pierre kalfon) and on a pilgrimage to a saint' s tomb, joins another cousin, mohammed sfar (fellag sheik), a sufi lover of god whose openness to the variety of faiths is admirable. the sheik' s donkey also talks.
the rabbi 's cat ( french : le chat du rabbin ) is a 2011 french animated film directed by joann sfar and antoine delesvaux , based on volume one , two and five of sfar 's comics series with the same title . it tells the story of a cat , which obtains the ability to speak after swallowing a parrot , and its owner who is a rabbi in 1920s algeria . the voice cast includes françois morel , hafsia herzi , maurice bénichou , fellag , françois damiens and jean-pierre kalfon . 
the rabbi's cat (french: le chat du rabbin) is a 2011 french animated film directed by joann sfar and antoine delesvaux, based on volume one, two and five of sfar's comics series with the same title. it tells the story of a cat, which obtains the ability to speak after swallowing a parrot, and its owner who is a rabbi in 1920s algeria. the voice cast includes françois morel, hafsia herzi, maurice bénichou, fellag, françois damiens and jean-pierre kalfon.
the rabbi's cat (french: le chat du rabbin) is a 2011 french animated film directed by joann sfar and antoine delesvaux, based on volume one, two and five of sfar's comics series with the same title. it tells the story of a cat, which obtains the ability to speak after swallowing a parrot, and its owner who is a rabbi in 1920s algeria. the voice cast includes françois morel, hafsia herzi, maurice bénichou, fellag, françois damiens and jean-pierre kalfon.