Holy Rollers calls out to Jews and drug addicts alike

What do Hasidic Jews, drug trafficking Israelis, and ecstasy all have in common? No, this is not the beginning of a bad joke, but rather the ingredients to the new independent film Holy Rollers, which premiered at the 'Landmark Sunshine Film Center' in New York City on Monday, May 10th.

Presented by ‘First Independent Pictures’, the film was an official selection of the Sundance 2010 Film Festival.

Produced by Danny A. Abeckaser, written by Antonio Macia, and directed by Kevin Asch, the film is based on true events that occurred in the late nineties when drug lords would recruit Hassidic Jews as mules to smuggle ecstasy from Europe to the United States.

At the premiere Macia shared his main inspiration for writing the film, ‘They came to me with this idea that Israeli gangsters would use these kids and I thought that was interesting but what really interested me was the journey of the young man and how you get to that point, the idea of compromise, the spiritual journey, and living in two worlds. I think so many of us do that live in New York. We all have the duality in our lives.’

This notion of duality, the cultural and spiritual juxtaposition, and the struggle for balance in an unbalanced world serves as the dramatic engine for the film. Sam Gold, played with heartfelt sincerity by Jesse Eisenberg, is teetering on the brink of Jewish adulthood picturing his future as an orthodox husband and rabbi when Yosef Zimmerman, his neighbor played with maniacal charm and comic edginess by Justin Bartha, introduces him into an entirely different world.

In a modern day ‘Alice and Wonderland’ that shuttles between Brooklyn, New York and Amsterdam, Holland, Sam soon falls down the rabbit hole piled high with drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, and gasp---non-kosher restaurants.

However, these elements are not the main draws for Sam. The true seductress in this film lies within the novelties to which Sam becomes exposed. Actor Jason Fuchs, who plays Leon Zimmerman and Sam’s good friend comments, ‘I think for anyone in that culture---it’s a very closed off culture, and this was an experience for kids to get to see a lot of new things, not just drugs, but travel, seeing Amsterdam. It wasn’t so much about the world of drugs, it was about any other world than the world they grew up in without the ability to see anything else for so long.’

After witnessing just a few elements of orthodox life in this film, one can understand the desire to derail off the yamulka-strewn path a bit. The constrictions in this culture do not simply create a force field between the Hasidic community and the secular world, but also institute boundaries within its own religious sphere. When Sam learns his family has found him a match he is eager to meet the bride-to-be but the culture forbids it until a certain point. When Sam meekly approaches his future wife in synagogue he is reminded of his transgression when she stands in silence and painfully turns away as if he has stricken her with a shovel. When the two finally are allowed to meet they sit on opposite ends of the couch so far apart they are on the verge of falling off while their parents stand conspicuously in the doorway monitoring them like prison wardens.

The film doles out evidence of Sam’s restrictive universe in cleverly illustrative snapshots. At one point, Sam has forgotten to take out the trash but it is the Sabbath and he is not allowed to carry so he stealthily tiptoes around the back disposing of the garbage like he is executing a covert governmental operation. He is also forced to watch porn through a friend’s house from across the street, perched on his windowsill like a peeping Tom, or in this case a ‘peeping Shmuel’.

However ludicrous some of these conditions and traditions may seem, the rituals were thoroughly researched and are conveyed without satire or antagonism. On the contrary those involved in the film made their appreciation for the orthodox community very clear, ‘I come from a Hasidic family on my dad’s side and I have a lot of respect for the culture. I think ultimately we made a movie that is very respectful’ said Fuchs.

Actress Ari Graynor who plays Rachel, an Israeli drug trafficker’s girlfriend played by Abeckaser, draws on a point central to the film’s ultimate project, ‘I think some Jews will be interested but I think that its such a universal story that I think and I hope it will appeal to everyone.’

At the beginning of the film, Sam’s rabbi recites a speech in which he says, ‘Either you move closer or further away’ alluding to man’s relationship with god. This line serves as the film’s epigraph, as Sam is continually zigzagging between both worlds, constantly re-evaluating and redefining his relationship with the culture and religion.

When Sam first meets Rachel he is clearly in awe of her beauty but when she kisses him he wipes his mouth violently as if he has been sprayed with anthrax. Sam literally has his first taste of the world outside the Hassidic bubble and is instinctively terrified of enjoying it.

Sam’s anxiety mixed with his curiosity peaks when he descends into a glowing red-lit nightclub with obvious trepidation as if he descending into the gates of hell. This poetic image marks the true beginning of Sam’s journey as he travels from spiritual purity toward cultural depravity.

Sam finally begins to defrost and eventually concedes to take an ecstasy pill from Rachel’s mouth---an awkward boyish Eve taking the apple from the serpent. Throughout the evening Sam is literally having substances being poured down his throat but accepts these advances with docile acquiescence. These moments serve as the defining aspect of the film, expertly portraying the adolescent struggle of simultaneously fearing and being intrigued by the unknown.

Holy Rollers is littered with juxtapositions, both thematically and visually, as the scenes swiftly shift from a tefillin ritual to a shot of the gritty Manhattan sidewalks, from intimate scenes of Sam’s family praying to a racing blur of the Amsterdam streets, in essence from the private to the universal, the provincial to the urban.

When asked what drew Asch to the film the director said, 'Danny invited me into the project 5 years ago, I instantly recognized it as something unique, for me it was distinctly visual, in terms of the description of these distinct worlds, its something I haven’t seen on film.' Asch’s artistic instinct manifested itself all over the film, which bursts with wonderful cinematic portraits.

In the beginning of the film, the camera zooms to a close up of the dinner table and lingers on a slow unveiling of the food, which highlights the spiritual import of the ceremony. Another highly visual moment is when Rachel and Sam are having a conversation through a sheer curtain and both of their silhouettes are traced as outlines and their faces are out of focus. This symbolic moment does not merely allude to the existence of a divide, but also signifies the fragile nature of their separation that could be swept away with one deft maneuver, while their blurry faces represent a mutual uncertainty of identity.

Asch continues to display his talent for the visual when Rachel and Sam are in a nightclub and the lights and slow, techno-inspired rhythmic movements produce a second hand inebriated effect. These imagistic vignettes imbue the scenes with an otherworldly sensual quality, maximizing the potential of the often forgotten visual artistry of filmmaking. Perhaps the most emblematic, evocative scene in the film is when Sam and Yosef are running across the Brooklyn Bridge as the two explode through space and time in slow motion, reducing their complex, tumultuous journey into several seconds.

The film is not all pathos as poignancy often mingles with hilarity, maintaining the form of a drama without it weighing too heavily. Scenes are peppered with humorous moments such as when Sam and Leon first arrive in Amsterdam and they see a theater called “The Sex Palace” and Sam says “this is not good”, or when Sam’s mother hands him and Leon sandwiches out of fear that Atlantic City will have few “glatt” kosher restaurants even though they are really heading to Europe to one of the most sexually saturated, drug infested cities in the world.

Holy Rollers masters the technique of showing as opposed to telling as the tension builds and erupts in small bursts, illustrating the internal deterioration of the Gold family in subtle, effective ways. Such instances include when Sam has been in the trade for a while and he and his father grow abnormally heated while bickering over carrying rugs, or when Sam slams the bathroom cabinet with such pent up ferocity that he cracks the mirror after overhearing an upsetting conversation between his parents.

These tiny yet potent ruptures escalate into one volcanic outburst in a heartbreaking scene where Sam’s father dismisses him from the family yelling through a tear stained face “You’re not my son!” Though his father, Mendel Gold, played with authentic devout intensity by Mark Ivanir, does not literally throw him out of the house, Sam becomes emotionally ostracized from the family and this scene is the prelude to Sam cutting off his peyas. The shedding of this Hasidic trademark indicates a pivotal shift in Sam's mentality and catalyzes the film’s momentum.

In addition to the brave, artful cinematic choices in this film, the cast is an excellent assembly of talent. Jesse Eisenberg is good (and kosher enough) to eat, and gains the audience’s sympathy as he stumbles through various emotionally trying identities. Justin Bartha who originally beckons Sam into his gritty world, is a jukebox of witty, somewhat hostile lines, such as “Lotta cool Jews here, one goy…forget about him.” Ari Graynor strikes the perfect balance between lamb-like softness and sumptuous enchantress, and truly loses herself in a scene when she is tripping on ecstasy and verges on an emotional breakdown in response to the unimaginable softness of Sam’s jacket.

Abeckasar who plays an Israeli drug trafficker, Jackie Solomon, squeezes a truckload of salty attitude and self-proclaimed superiority into a small package and epitomizes the essence of his character when he toasts 'To good business and good friends. In that order.' Jason Fuchs is all pious and peyas and wears his Hassidic integrity like a shield that protects him from the exotic world Sam enters. If these are not enticing enough reasons to see Holy Rollers, just imagine Q-tip, who plays an Ethiopian Jew named Ephraim, iced out in a giant, gold Jewish star necklace uttering the words, 'There’s my mishpucha!' before embracing Jackie at a drug exchange.

The music adds a subtle extra dimension to the nostalgic quality of the film. Every so often the scenes are cascaded with elegant instrumental interludes, injecting these moments with traditional Yiddish seasoning.

Towards the end of the film, as Sam finds himself wandering further and further away from his past he stumbles onto a street corner where an Orthodox Jew encourages him to perform the tefillin ritual. As Sam dons the material, the tefillin seems to serve as a drug when Sam appears almost intoxicated by the effect of the leather on his skin. This dive into the past awakens certain spiritual sentiments in Sam and he begins to internally question his choices.

These questions coupled with a jeopardous incident in the airport leave Sam feeling like his world is crumbling down and he is on the verge of collapsing, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. In this state of disoriented angst, he walks around New York City when there is a voice over of the rabbi’s original monologue which repeats the words, ‘Hashem where are you? Men must know where they stand in relation to hashem, either you move closer, or further away.’

Sam hears these words as he walks through the streets, over the bridge, and eventually arrives at his home, signifying a modern day spiritual pilgrimage. The lost young man is guided by the rabbi’s words as an ancient tribe might be guided by a prophet. It is on his front steps where Sam breaks down to Leon admitting that he needs help, and sirens are heard in the background and as they grow louder the scene fades to black.

The final scene displays Sam and his father walking on the prison grounds, making jokes, discussing books, and Sam is wearing his yamulka. He has literally returned to his roots as we see the peyas are back in full force.

Holy Rollers explores a particular culture that opens up a philosophical and social discussion about identity, faith, and the struggles of getting older. Graynor aptly comments on the universality of the film, 'I think the Jewish aspect is just a unique take on it but it’s just about faith in general. The Hasidic community is used in the film but it could really be about any group of people.'

When asked if the film would inspire any similar future projects Asch said, ‘Oh gee I don’t know wouldn’t that be funny? It’s like the body switching movies, ‘oh my god another Jewish smuggling ecstasy film’…In 3D with peyas coming at you out of the screen.’

Let us all drink to that. L'chaim.

Holy Rollers officially opens in select theaters on May 21st.