An unrepentant gambler, boozer and failed family man, East Berliner Jaeckie Zucker, must reunite with his long-estranged Orthodox brother in order for either brother to claim their inheritance. Both families pitch in to help – Jaeckie’s Gentile wife buys an instruction book on Judaism – but deep-rooted family quarrels keep the two brothers from reconciling: It’s no mere metaphor that a wall still separates them. And it’s just damned inconvenient that his mother’s shivah coincides with Jackie’s last-big-chance billiards tournament. Daniel Levy’s good-natured family comedy-drama was a surprise big hit in Germany, though jokes about reunification may be lost on American viewers, and the shock value of playing Jewish Orthodoxy for gags should hardly cause a stir here. In German, with subtitles. Starts Fri., March 31. Manor (AH)

This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2006.

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