This review of the Portuguese film entitled The Jew (1996) necessitates comments about two ethnic groups – the Portuguese and the Jews. I apologize in advance if any of my comments are experienced as offensive by members of either group. It is certainly not my intent to cause offense. An a humanist, I view each person as having the same inherent worth and rights regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any factor outside of what a person makes of themselves by way of moral character, personality, and intellectual improvement. I am neither pro- nor anti- any group of people.

In my effort to better appreciate the international world of cinema, I have endeavored to identify worthy films from as many different countries as possible and have personally seen films from nearly forty different countries. I have a bit of special interest in Portuguese culture because my wife is of Portuguese ancestry, I’ve studied the genealogy of her family and given a talk on the subject, and Portugal is, thus far, the only European country that I have visited. For a relatively small country, Portugal has made its share of contributions to the arts over the centuries – in literature, paintings, sculpture, and music (I am particularly fond of Fados – a unique Portuguese form of “Blues”). I would like nothing more than to be able to suggest to readers a few outstanding Portuguese films. Certainly if one extends the concept to “Portuguese-language films”, that poses no difficulty, as Brazil has furnished a few gems including Black Orpheus (1958), Central Station (1998), Manoushe (1998), Behind the Sun (2001), and City of God (2002).

Portugal, itself, however, has yet to establish itself as a significant contributor to high-quality world cinema. There are at least seven films of Portuguese origin available commercially to Americans, all dating from 1993 to the present. The ones I’ve run across are Abraham’s Valley (1993), Party (1995), God’s Comedy (1995), The Convent (1995), The Jew (1996), Voyage to the Beginning of the World (1997), and I’m Going Home (2001). One telling statement regarding the state of cinema in Portugal is how often these films must draw from outside Portugal for their stars. John Malkovich, for example, stars in both the The Convent and I’m Going Home alongside the great French actress, Catherine Deneuve, in both instances. The great Italian star (of Fellini association), Marcello Mastroianni, had his final role in Voyage to the Beginning of the World. Party stars Irene Papas and French actor Michel Piccoli. So, of the seven available Portuguese-origin films, only three feature mainly a Portuguese or Portuguese/Brazilian cast: Abraham’s Valley, God’s Comedy, and The Jew. The foremost director working in Portugal appears to be Manoel de Oliveira, who directed five of the seven Portuguese films available in America. God’s Comedy was directed by Jaôa César Monteiro and The Jew by Jom Tob Azulay. I saw Voyage to the Beginning of the World at a Portuguese cultural event. The second half of the film was actually pretty good but the first half was so utterly lethargic that I very nearly walked out of it. The Jew is a fundamentally mediocre film. I wish it were better because the subject matter is certainly deserving of a better film representation.

Historical Background: The subject matter of this film is the Portuguese Inquisition, a period of religious and political intolerance implemented in Portugal in 1536 and lasting in that country until 1821. The Inquisition is something that modern students of history should understand because of its profound implications in relation to persecution and suppression of freedoms. Citizens of most American and European countries take the concept of freedom of speech for granted, today, and need to appreciate that it was a freedom won at great cost over many centuries. The idea of the Inquisition was based on the notion of “heresy” – which is defined as “an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma.” After the Roman Catholic Church was established as the official religion of the Roman Empire, heresy became a crime against both civil and canon law. Thus, freedom of speech or thought was not a recognized right and, in fact, was expressly prohibited by law. In the 13th century AD, church and civil authorities were alarmed by the rise of divergent religious sects that included the Cathari, Waldenses, and Albigenses. To counter the emergence of the last of these in southern France, Pope Innocent III established in 1231 commissions to aid in the discovery and elimination of Albigensian heresy. Judicial torture as a means of eliciting evidence was authorized by Pope Innocent IV in 1252. This initiative to suppress dissent from Church doctrine became known as the Roman Inquisition.

Similar methods were established in Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella around 1480 but the inquisition was operated by the State, independent of Church officials, and was used as much to suppress political opposition as heresy. In 1496, Portugal made the cataclysmic decision to expel every Jew from Portugal who refused to convert to Christianity. At the time of the expulsion of the Jews and until about 1560, Portugal was at the height of its glory as a European nation – the so-called Golden Age in Portugal in which this country was a leader in exploration and commerce, a center of trade in Oriental wares, and a center, unfortunately, for the burgeoning slave trade. The Portuguese court ranked among the most prestigious and powerful in Europe. The expulsion of the Jews, however, was a major factor in precipitating the decay of the fortunes of Portugal in the latter half of the 16th century. The Jews comprised a significant portion of the middle class of the country and were among the best educated and capable of the Portuguese citizens. It would be hundreds of years before Portugal would recover from that decision and it remained on unsound financial and economic footing until well into the 20th century.

Ironically, forced “conversions” were never really convincing either to those converted or those forcing the conversions. The Portuguese Inquisition, established in 1536, was designed to ferret out forced “converts”, called “Marranos,” who were only feigning the practice of Catholicism but privately maintaining their identities and practices as Jews. If no evidence was discovered in the form of Jewish paraphernalia, then torture was applied to the detained individual in order to elicit the requisite confession. Since being “Jewish” is both an ethnic and/or a religious identification, ethnic Jews could never escape the suspicion of also being heretics. The Portuguese Inquisition mercilessly persecuted the ethnic Jews, through incarceration, interrogation, torture, and execution, never accepting that a Marrano could be a genuine Christian.

The Story: One of the more famous victims of this kind of persecution was a playwright named Antonio Jose da Silva (Filipe Pinheiro). Born in Brazil to Jewish exiles, Antonio showed great talent as a writer, immigrated into Portugal in 1715, and married into a noble Portuguese family. Da Silva wrote hilarious farces that were the toast of the cultured intelligentsia. He was nicknamed “The Jew” by his friends and fans, more out of affection for his heritage than bigotry. Unfortunately, this appellation undoubtedly played a role in his being singled out for special persecution.

Antonio was arrested a first time and subjected to torture but ultimately released. A female acquaintance was later arrested and tortured. As in the McCarthyism in America in the 1950’s, one way off the committee’s hook was to name names of associates that were practicing Jews (or Communists in the American manifestation). Antonio da Silva was named and, thus, rearrested. There was no way out for him. The Inquisition was set up as a lose-lose situation. If he confessed under torture to being a practicing Jew, he would be subject to punishment for heresy. If he refused to confess, he would still be subject to capital punishment for refusing to cooperate. Da Silva chose the latter course and was burned at the stake at the age of just 32.

Themes: The principal theme is, of course, the horror of persecution, torture, and executions. Obviously we all knew that going in, but it never hurts to reinforce the point with another instance. We also learn about the corruption of the Church and of the State and how the two operated cooperatively to reinforce each other’s power. The film does succeed in making its thematic points. Unfortunately, the bitter pills comes with very little coating of any kind.

Production Values: There are several strong points in this production that deserve recognition. As an elaborate period piece, it has all of the requisite trappings of costume and sets that make it an interesting depiction of historical events. The cinematography is likewise better than merely effective. The cast is comprised of native Portuguese and Brazilian performers, with good mastery of the Portuguese language. They acquit themselves very nicely. It is gratifying to see that there are an adequate number of Portuguese speaking performers to cast a Portuguese-language film of this type.

There are occasional instances of skillful filming technique. During one of the torture scenes, the images cut back and forth between Da Silva being tortured and an audience laughing heartily at one of his theater productions. It is a nice bit of dark irony. On the other hand, the film sinks into banal exploitation by the contrast in its handling of the torture of a female victim versus Da Silva himself. While both are stripped naked during their torture, Da Silva is shown only in modest head and shoulder shots while the woman is shown full body in an elaborate 360 degree rotating shot, suggestive of pornographic bondage titillation.

The problem with the film is that the script never provides any real dramatic punch. This is history and biography in its driest and most boring form. We learn little about the character, feelings, or thinking of even Da Silva, much less the secondary characters.

Bottom-Line: The Jew portrays one chapter in the persecution of Jews, which has, sadly, occurred repeatedly (if not continuously) over thousands of years and in countless locales. The horror of the Holocaust has overshadowed awareness of the many other examples of anti-Semitism in the minds of many modern people. The German’s may have refined the concept to assembly line proportions, but persecution of Jews has been the guilty practice of many Christian and Muslim countries for hundreds of years.

I do not personally support Zionism (because of its impact on the equally deserving Palestinians) but I can certainly understand why the impetus for Zionism exists. It is not merely the single unthinkably massive episode of persecution represented by the Holocaust that drives Jewish insecurity, but the persistence of persecution almost without regard to time or place. When persecution recurs with such relentlessness, it is only natural for Jews to yearn for a homeland where Judaism is the established religion. Unfortunately, the establishment of any one religion as the official one of a state is precisely the circumstance that leads to persecution of “heretics” within that state. There can be no equality for Palestinians in a state where Judaism is designated as the official state religion. It is precisely the evident justice of some of the issues for both sides that makes the Israeli-Palestinian dispute so intractable. I view myself as a person sympathetic to both Israelis and Palestinians and it breaks my heart when I read authors who state that opposition to Zionism is inherently anti-Semitic. I don’t believe that to be the case.

The Jew (1996) is among the best films made thus far in Portugal and relates to a topic of enormous importance. It has some fine production values but is sorely lacking in dramatic punch. I recommend it for its educational value but cannot recommend it to those who are seeking primarily entertainment from their film-viewing time. This film is in Portuguese language with English subtitles and has a running time of 85 minutes. Although unrated, it should certainly be viewed as “R” for torture scenes and nudity.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age