The film, a documentary about a devout Jewish boy with Down syndrome, opened in New York this weekend.

John Anderson in Newsday:

We can’t actually be sure of this, but it seems pretty certain that “Praying with Lior” contains the most heart-wrenching bar mitzvah speech in the history of cinema. Those who don’t choke up when Lior Liebling, the subject and hero of Ilana Trachtman’s film portrait, speaks to his congregation should check his or her pulse.

Jeannette Catsoulis in the New York Times:

While family and friends marvel over Lior’s putative spirituality, the director, Ilana Trachtman, captures a larger story. As the Lieblings engage in exhaustive preparations for Lior’s bar mitzvah, we see a sweet-natured, high-functioning young man enjoy a level of assimilation — and attention — granted to few of the mentally disabled. A near-celebrity within his neighborhood, Lior seems unaware of his real-world limitations — a fact that worries his stepmother, Lynne Iser, though not his father, Mordechai.

Patiently and delicately, Ms. Trachtman teases out the tricky dynamics of a family dealing with a disabled child.

(The film is designated a NYT Critics’ pick.)

S. James Snyder in the New York Sun:

Ms. Trachtman’s film is as much about its title subject as it is about the hundreds who gather to celebrate his entry into adulthood. As we watch him jubilantly climb onto the bima, welcomed by smiles, cheers, and tears, “Praying with Lior” does more than offer us a portrait of a special young man. It discards the clichés and condescension of so many mainstream religious films to help us see the power of faith in action.

Carolyn Slutsky in New York Jewish Week:

“Praying with Lior” is the latest in a growing number of films that explore the role of disability and difference in the Jewish community, and talk about how inclusion is a good idea not just for individuals with disabilities but for the community as a whole.

… As an outgrowth of “Praying with Lior,” UJA-Federation, together with the JCC of Manhattan, is planning a disability film festival for later this year that will screen various films that deal with disability.

… The deeper awareness of the power and potential of such films can be felt across the Jewish community. Rabbi Mayer Waxman, assistant director at Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities, said his group’s mission has always been inclusion, but that with more films and chances to engage with difference, Yachad’s staff and the Jewish community as a whole can talk about disability from a more informed place.

“Oftentimes people don’t have a clear understanding of what it is to work with people with developmental disabilities, they’re scared and so when you see the context of how his family and community interacts with Lior, it helps teach,” said Rabbi Waxman.

Jon Kalish in the Jewish Daily Forward:

A new documentary about a Philadelphia boy with Down syndrome preparing for his bar mitzvah is at turns inspiring, heartbreaking and likely to spark some soul-searching in the Jewish community about the inclusion of disabled people in religious life.

… “This film is thought-provoking enough that I think people will walk out of it and say ‘OK, now what can I do?’” said Rabbi Daniel Grossman, the spiritual leader of Adath Israel Congregation in Lawrenceville, N.J. Grossman’s synagogue is dedicated to the inclusion of people with a variety of disabilities.

Earlier post here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Down syndrome, documentary, media, public attitudes, religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post