''Mortimer Griffin and Shalinsky'' is a 1985

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

written by

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

and directed by

Mort Ransen Mort Ransen (August 16, 1933 – September 4, 2021) was a Canadian film and television director, editor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his Genie Award-winning 1995 film ''Margaret's Museum''. Early life Ransen was born Moishe Socora ...

. It is about an

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Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

intellectual who accuses his teacher of hiding his Jewish identity. The film is based on Richler's 1978 short story, "Mortimer Griffin, Shalinsky and How they Settled the Jewish Question".

Summary

Shalinsky, a Jewish university student, is convinced that his non-Jewish professor Mortimer Griffin is guilty of changing his name, suspecting the instructor of hiding his Jewish identity. After listening attentively to Griffin's analysis of

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

’s ''

The Metamorphosis ''The Metamorphosis'' (), also translated as ''The Transformation'', is a novella by Franz Kafka published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''The Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inex ...

'', all the other students file out of the classroom, but Shalinsky lingers to compliment his teacher. After offering words of praise, between puffs of his cigarette, he asks pointedly, "Why did you change your name? You’re a Jew." Of course, Griffin is not Jewish and he tells Shalinsky this fact. Griffin is amused at first and tells his Jewish friends about the incident. However, Shalinsky persists, and simply won't accept that Griffin is not Jewish. Eventually, Griffin gets more and more irritated by Shalinsky's refusal to accept the truth. Finally, irritation gives way to anger and Griffin blurts out comments that sound anti-Semitic. Griffin has a nervous breakdown. In the satirical aftermath, we learn that Griffin has converted to Judaism and become religious.

Reception

The film was screened at the

Toronto Jewish Film Festival The Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is an annual film festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is described as the largest Jewish film festival in the world. The festival was founded in 1993. One of its founders, Helen Zukerman, is the f ...

, and won the Red Ribbon for Literary Adaptations at the 1986 American Film and Video Festival.

References

* *

External links

The Jewish Channel's reviewDistributor's website
* Canadian drama short films 1985 short films 1985 films Films about Jews and Judaism Films set in Montreal 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films English-language drama short films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub