The Comedian

Israel | 102 minutes | Hebrew, English, Yiddish | Hebrew and English subtitles

A badkhan is an entertainer at Hasidic weddings, the Jewish version of the Shakespearean clown. Moishe was once Jerusalem’s most sought-after badkhan, but his addiction to the bottle drowned his career—to the point that he could no longer support his family. When Moishe finally manages to find a match for his daughter, who has been delayed in marrying, he cannot raise the money needed for the wedding. When he hears that Israel Bomchik, his childhood friend who became wealthy in America, is coming to Jerusalem to marry off his son, Moishe sees an opportunity to solve all his problems—but it turns out the situation is more complicated than it appears. Israel has brought Meshulam with him, a famous American badkhan whose modern, flamboyant style overshadows and threatens Moishe. The tension between the two badkhans, pride, the bottle, and the hunger for greatness that has already destroyed him once endanger the one thing Moishe must not destroy: his daughter’s future. A moving, comical modern legend in the spirit of Sholem Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer, set in a shtetl in the heart of Jerusalem.

Tickets

Regular ticket: ₪43 | Jerusalem Cinematheque members: ₪28 | Senior citizens: ₪21.5 (with ID, at the box office only) | Discounted ticket: ₪38 (discount eligibility—at the box office only, with ID: people with disabilities, soldiers and national service volunteers, youth)

The film is screened without advertisements, and screenings will begin at the stated time.