Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

A Cantor's Tale

Play trailer A Cantor's Tale 2005 1h 35m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 5 Reviews Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Filmmaker Eric Greenberg Anjou looks back at the golden age of Jewish liturgical singing and profiles one of its modern-day teachers, Jacob Mendelson.

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Rob Humanick Slant Magazine Effectively portrays this practice as a deeply spiritual marriage of religious commitment and artistic perseverance. Rated: 2.5/4 Oct 24, 2007 Full Review Matt Singer Village Voice With its outlandish stories, obsession with masculine ego, and focus on an absurd, forgotten subculture, A Cantor's Tale is the stuff Ben Stiller movies are made of ... Sep 8, 2006 Full Review Dennis Harvey Variety Delightful docu A Cantor's Tale casts a fond eye back at the 'golden age' of chazzanut (Jewish liturgical music) and its star performers in the Brooklyn of yesteryear, while also profiling one of the form's most significant latter-day advocates. Sep 8, 2006 Full Review Maitland McDonagh TV Guide It's Mendelson's love of chazzanut, and of music in general, that drives this engaging film; anyone familiar with the power of music to transcend language and cut straight to powerful, transformative emotions will find his passion irresistible. Rated: 3/4 Sep 8, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1) audience reviews
Audience Member A moving and heartwarming retrospective on the story of Cantor Jackie Mendelson, his childhood, and how growing up in Boro Park Brooklyn in the '50s and '60s impacted his love for cantorial music resulting in his decision to become a Cantor and to share his love for the musical tradition with everyone he encounters along the way. One gets here a nostalgic look back to the days when cantorial music (chazzanus) was the sole form of entertainment for the immigrant generation; and how this music served as a link between the generations providing hope and comfort in difficult times, as well as giving voice to the spiritual aspirations and yearnings of a people. Along the way Cantor Mendelson pulls everyone he encounters into the world of chazzanus and gets them (us) to sing with him. Just the footage of the various shop keepers, deli workers and passers by (along with such famous personalities as Jackie Mason and Alan Dershowitz) singing along with Mendelson is worth the price of admission...or purchase... as the case may be. This is not only the story of an individual or a generation, but rather of the soul of the Jewish people through the lens of the great tradition of (Eastern European) cantorial music and its implication for the future direction of American Jewish life. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
A Cantor's Tale

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Eric Greenberg Anjou looks back at the golden age of Jewish liturgical singing and profiles one of its modern-day teachers, Jacob Mendelson.
Director
Erik Anjou
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 35m