Heeb

You might not want to picture octogenarian Jews getting hot and heavy with one another in that romantic wilderness that is the Catskills, but Four Seasons Lodge director Andrew Jacobs has done the unlikely: He’s put together and filmed a lovable ensemble of charismatic, lox-loving, life-loving Holocaust survivors. Just following them around during their annual summer getaway makes it a little easier to believe that, even after everything that’s happened to them, grandma and grandpa can still enjoy life.

Four Season Lodge from First Run Features 

I know what you are thinking. We’ve all seen it: the prototype of the Holocaust documentary, the survivors bearing witness and reciting every detail of their terrifying experiences until they cease to be people and morph into living, breathing trauma. Four Seasons Lodge is not that kind of film. Sure, the residents of the lodge share a common denominator, and the film addresses this with clever subtleties. However, the film also addresses one very important fact: Old Jews are funny!

I asked producer Matt Lavine how it’s been recieved by young people and he answered with confident glee: "Young people love this movie!" And it’s true. Young people do love this movie, perhaps because it presents a somewhat progressive approach to understanding the holocaust and its survivors, or maybe it’s just fun to see bubbies and zadies laughing, romancing and partying. Either way, I’m joining the chorus and calling this the "feel-good Holocaust movie of the year."

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