I missed this one when it played at the Palm Theatre, but it’s made many critics’ Top 10 lists for 2024. I wouldn’t put it in my top 10 (A lot of competition last year!), but this is a thoughtful film exploring complex human emotions and family dynamics. Deftly written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg (When You Finish Saving the World), who’s better known as an actor (Zombieland, The Social Network, The Squid and the Whale), the film stars Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as cousins David and Benji Kaplan, who reunite for a guided Holocaust tour through Poland in honor of the recently deceased grandmother they both dearly loved.
David and Benji were close as children, but they’ve drifted apart. David, married with a child, is a nebbish workaholic. Benji is charming and fearless but adrift. They couldn’t be more different, and the story busies itself by examining their dynamics as well as how they interact with the other members of the tour group.
It’s a charming, heartfelt, and smartly written dramedy, with a score consisting almost entirely of piano pieces by Polish virtuoso Frédéric François Chopin. Eisenberg (reserved) and Culkin (an unpredictable force of nature) effectively play to type. (90 min.)
—Glen Starkey
This article appears in Jan 23 – Feb 2, 2025.