The Reel Schmooze: Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Eleanor the Great’ lives up to its name

Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use.

This week, the pair speaks about two films, “Eleanor the Great,” directed by Scarlett Johansson, and the documentary, “Son of a Seeker,” by first-time filmmaker Kai Balin.

WATCH the full episode here:

But first, we hear in this week’s “Jangle” segment, Hoffman recounts the recent votes of the New York Film Critics Circle for their annual “best-ofs,” which are also known as the “Elite Oscars.”

Next, we turn to two news items surrounding “Eleanor the Great.” The first is that first-time director Scarlett Johansson said in an interview that she was asked by a would-be financial backer to change her film’s plot away from the Holocaust. And then we also heard this week that one of the Holocaust survivors featured in the film, Sami Steigmann, was asked not to speak at a Brooklyn middle school about antisemitism due to his pro-Israel views.

We then review the film “Eleanor the Great,” directed by Johansson and written by Tory Kamen. It stars the great June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Jessica Hecht, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Then we turn to the independent documentary “Son of a Seeker,” which is being shown at some Jewish film festivals, and learn about the unusual story of a third-generation Holocaust survivor who learns, after attending Jewish day school and contemplating immigration to Israel, that he may not be Jewish after all.

Hear who gave both films a seal of approval on this week’s The Reel Schmooze.

The Reel Schmooze is produced by the PodWaves and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.