Review of Menashe (2017) by Lucy M — 19 Sep 2017

This is an interesting glimpse into a culture that most people never see. The title character, Menashe, is a widower with a young son. The movie is about his desire to have his son live with him, something that is forbidden by Hasidic rules. He cannot raise his child alone, there must be a woman present in the home. Which is odd to this outsider's eyes as women seem to have no place in this society except as unpaid domestic servants and baby makers. If the Hasidim could reproduce asexually, I suspect there would be no women there at all.

This is not an "enjoyable" movie, no overcoming odds; but it is a peek into a closed world.