Footnote (2011)

91% of critics liked it
(79 reviews)
74% of users liked it
(21,472 ratings)

Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. While his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field,… More Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. While his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition. Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son Uriel, meanwhile, is thrilled to see his father's achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father's. Will he sabotage his father's glory? -- (C) Sony Pictures Classics

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Joseph Cedar
Written By: Joseph Cedar
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Mar 9, 2012 Limited
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Tom Long, Detroit News
"Footnote" deals with ambition, isolation, the dangers of too much success and the inevitable gap between generations.
David Denby, New Yorker
Footnote requires little knowledge of Judaism and its texts. Rather, it's about the complications of love, guilt, and rage.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Israeli writer-director Joseph Cedar's tale of two Talmudic scholars set in present-day Jerusalem, while not exactly side-splitting, is quietly riotous. And, yes, the guffaws are bittersweet.
Rafer Guzman, Newsday
A droll, deadpan satire of the professional contempt and personal rancor that breeds in any narrow field.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Footnote is a film about the nature of truth, about sacrifice, hubris, hypocrisy. It's nothing short of brilliant.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
It speaks to anyone who's been on either end of a grudge or family antagonism. And it saves its best for those who have witnessed clusters of the best and brightest descend to the level of grade school kids on the playground.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
The Coen Brothers must be ticked that they didn't think of the idea first.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...a drama about the internecine skirmishes - actual and metaphoric - fought between fathers and sons that might fairly be called Shakespearean.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An intriguing and demanding film despite its flaws.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
The premise enables Cedar to spoof academic infighting and professorial egomania even as he dissects a love-hate blood connection that has been fraught with tension and mistrust ever since Abraham was willing to slay Isaac.
Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
Cedar is mostly interested in the father-son dynamics, and he cast excellent actors.
Matthew Pejkovic, Matt's Movie Reviews
While neither father or son are likeable characters, Cedar still manages to make us care about what will happen to their tumultuous relationship. The end result is a gratifying treat.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
Footnote has moments of humor and moments of pathos, but they often seem to be coming from different movies.
Simon Weaving, Screenwize
A dense and complex piece of filmmaking, made manageable through the warm and totally compelling performances of the two lead actors.
Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Footnote" has one of the most satisfying scenes I've seen in years.
Rich Heldenfels, Akron Beacon Journal
A funny, sorrowful, sharp-witted look at ambition, ego, and fathers and sons.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
... a bitter and mordant comedy that evokes winces instead of laughs ...
Robert Denerstein, Movie Habit
Light yet heavy comedy/drama no footnote in Israeli cinema
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
Ultimately it's about how fathers and sons manage the added complexity in their relationship of professional rivalry - and the potential for deep wounds to be inflicted by one upon the other
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
It's an interesting premise with an equally interesting structure and the use of music, injecting high drama alongside a curious cat and mouse curiosity, gives the film a unique slant

Read all 23 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Greg S

The story of two Professor Shkolniks: father Eliezer is a bitter Talmudic scholar whose life work can be reduced to one footnote in a major reference work, while son Uriel is a rising academic star who has outshone his father but remains loyal to the old man. It sounds dry, but… More
The story of two Professor Shkolniks: father Eliezer is a bitter Talmudic scholar whose life work can be reduced to one footnote in a major reference work, while son Uriel is a rising academic star who has outshone his father but remains loyal to the old man. It sounds dry, but there's surprisingly juicy drama (and comedy) about lifelong grudges, office politics, and the complex father/son dynamic inside the professorial premise.
c0up

'Footnote'. Pride is at the forefront of this complicated, but hilarious father-son relationship. Acting, writing, direction. Tick tick tick.
Walter M

"Footnote" starts with Professor Uriel Shkolnik(Lior Ashkenazi) being honored for his work in Talmudic research while his father, Professor Eliezer Shkolnik(Shlomo Bar-Aba), suffers through the evening in silence before declining a ride home. In fact, Eliezer is literally a… More
"Footnote" starts with Professor Uriel Shkolnik(Lior Ashkenazi) being honored for his work in Talmudic research while his father, Professor Eliezer Shkolnik(Shlomo Bar-Aba), suffers through the evening in silence before declining a ride home. In fact, Eliezer is literally a footnote to history with his decades of research being pushed to the side in favor of a lucky break by a rival. But one day on his daily walk to the National Library, he is notified that he has won the prestigious Israel Prize. Everything would now be fine except for one little detail... "Footnote" is a wry examination of the nature of identity and how very tenuous it all is. Take for instance, Eliezer, who was robbed by fate of everything that he is and ever could be. That same potential is fully brought to fruition by his son Uriel. While his father is nothing but bitter, Uriel acts like a mensch throughout.(I have heard of daddy issues but kiddy issues?) It might come as a surprise that something as petty as a prize could change everything, including their interactions with security personnel, but in their insular world, this is huge.(Uriel's losing/having his clothes stolen in the locker room could also be part of this world shift.) So, while the movie fares well intellectually in its Introduction/Conflict/Resolution structure and a sudden ending that actually comes at just the right place, it does not connect as well on an emotional level.