Showtimes September 7 - 10:

  “His mom enrolled in bat mitzvah classes. He made a movie about it starring Carol Kane.”  - The Globe

Ben Gottlieb (Jason Schwartzman) is a cantor at a synagogue in upstate New York who’s experiencing a low moment. After the sudden loss of his wife, he’s not only losing his faith; he’s lost his ability to sing – he’s a cantor who can’t cant. While drowning his sorrows one evening, he bumps into Carla Kessler (Carol Kane), his childhood music teacher who’s retired and looking for fresh purpose, herself. A Jewish red diaper baby, Carla never had a bat mitzvah and petitions Ben to take her on as an adult student.

What unfurls is a cringe comedy of the highest order, a deliciously witty laugh-inducer that’s also a moving exploration of aging, love, Judaism, and grief. Kane is as funny as ever, that trademark voice and frizzy blonde hair doing wonders for her characterization of Carla. And the mannered, blank affect Schwartzman displays in many of his Wes Anderson films cracks into something vulnerable and human here. Funny, endearing, and rocking a fantastic vintage Hebrew pop soundtrack, Between the Temples feels like an inspired improvisational riff and a classic romcom rolled into one.

(US / 2024 / Directed by Nathan Silver)
R / 1 hr 51 mins