Mendy: A Question of Faith  - Tues Jan 10, 6:30 PM
2003 NR 90 minutes
    Nothing seems quite so banal as a coming-of-age film about a tortured 20-something living in Williamsburg. Make that 20-something a member of the Satmar sect of Hassidic Judaism and set the film in south Williamsburg and things get much more interesting.
    Mendy: A Question of Faith follows just such a young man, Mendele, who leaves the folds of the faith after a taboo tryst has brought shame to him and his family. Racked with guilt and reeling from the loss of his community, Mendy seeks out a childhood friend and fellow Satmar dropout, Yankel, a drug-dealing clubber who lives across the river in Manhattan. Yankel and an assorted cast of characters usher along Mendy’s transformation from sheltered, young religious zealot to introspective, accepting (and still religious) young man.
    While the film relies too heavily on the drama of obvious religious taboos, the telescopic view of a community that’s in our own backyard is both fascinating and humanizing.
    Struggling to reconcile his faith with the realities of a modern secular world, Mendy (Ivan Sandomire), a young Hassidic Jew, embarks on a journey of self-discovery. As he limbos between the spiritual and the secular, Mendy is tempted by hedonistic pleasures, indulging in drugs, strip bars and even cheeseburgers. Through it all, his free-spirited roommate (Gabriela Dias) and a formerly Orthodox friend (Spencer Chandler) are there to offer advice.
 

Cast: Deana Barone  Elizabeth Cano, Kristen Cecala,  Spencer Chandler, Gabriela Dias, Jonathan Hova, Ivan Sandomire, Isaac Stern
Director: Adam Vardy