THE TESTAMENT – JFF 2018 Review

St. Louis Jewish Film Festival
Plaza Frontenac Cinema
Tuesday, June 5 at 7pm
Austria/Israel – In English, German and Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Amichai Greenberg
Feature: 96 mins.
With introduction by Susan Balk, co-author of “Vienna’s Conscience” and Founding Director of Hate Brakers

In the taut Israeli-Austrian thriller/mystery THE TESTAMENT, Israeli historian Dr. Yoel Halberstam (Ori Pfeffer) is leading a team from the Jerusalem Holocaust Institute in high-profile court battle to preserve a site where 200 Jewish forced laborers were massacred and buried in Austria in March 1945. But the Israeli preservationists are racing a ticking clock, as the Austrian town of Lendsdorf is demanding proof of a mass grave before halting plans for a new development on the site. Halberstam must find it before the deadline set by the court. Unless the mass grave is found, the building plan will go ahead and the site will be obliterated.

The Israeli historian faces a number of problems. Witnesses to the historic events are few and, worse, no one knows the exact location of the mass grave. Several witnesses reported hearing the massacre but none can pinpoint the exact location of the mass grave. An additional problem is that an earlier attempt to bring this crime to light, one made soon after the war, resulted in the assassination of one witness, which drove the rest into hiding.

The gripping Israeli-Austrian mystery/drama THE TESTAMENT debuted at last year’s Venice Film Festival, and was well-received. Director Amichai Greenberg brings a fresh look at the Holocaust by focusing on this personal story and the questions it raises about identity.

Yoel Halberstam is a historian who has built his considerable reputation on his exacting research but despite his considerable skills, the solution to this puzzle keeps eluding him. An Orthodox Jew, Yoel lives for his work, with little time for a personal life. Yoel’s focus on his work and even his faith have narrowed his view of life and even his awareness of the modern world. Known for his passion for the truth, Yoel has devoted his life to his work, neglecting his family to the point that his wife divorced him.. Yoel lives with his elderly mother and his married sister who chides him for his neglect of his personal life. The historian struggles to make time to help his son prepare for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah but has trouble connecting with the boy.

While going through some classified testaments taken for the earlier post-war investigation, Yoel is startled to find his own mother’s name. His mother (Rivka Gur) had always refused to talk about the war, so the discovery sparks more than professional curiosity. Yoel’s hunger to know the truth leads him to use his access to restricted files to find out more, despite the ethical questions it raises. As the historian digs deeper, he discovers long-buried family secrets. The discoveries are shattering for Yoel but his compulsion to find the truth, no matter the consequences, drives him forward.

The acting is superb in this thought-provoking drama. Pfeffer does as excellent job as Yoel, wrestling with his conflicted feelings and with the mental puzzle of the mystery that confronts him. The mystery is tense and well-paced, and the plot is draws in larger issues around civilians in wartime, how war can bury secrets or leave lingering fears in survivors who are forever marked by their experience. The photography is striking, often visually beautiful. The film contrasts the modern architecture of locations against the hunt for a mystery about the past. The contrasts between the past and present world course through this exploration of truth and identity.

His discoveries during his research bring into question his assumptions about his own life and cause him to reassess it. Yoel’s mother Fanya (played well by Rivka Gur) dodges her son’s questions about the war, mostly by simply ignoring them. She’s in poor health which makes pressing her difficult, and Yoel’s frustration is palpable. While the personal crisis sends him reeling, he ultimately re-focuses on the task at hand. His research unexpectedly brings to light new information and a new view of the mystery of the mass grave that might help solve the puzzle.

THE TESTAMENT is an intriguing mystery and a different kind of Holocaust tale, as well as a thoughtful exploration of the nature of identity.