Footnote is a 2011 film from Israel directed by Joseph Cedar.
Eliezer Shkolnik is a professor of Talmudic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who has spent his whole life, decades, closely analyzing the Jerusalem Talmud
. He is also a bitter old misanthrope, who seems to hate everybody. Eliezer's contempt for the world can only partially be explained by how the great project of his life—a 30-year study of the Jerusalem Talmud proving through textual analysis that there was another, different version of the work—was made moot when his rival, Prof. Grossman, accidentally stumbled across the very book that Eliezer had proved must exist. Grossman published the ancient book and got all the glory.
Among the people Eliezer dislikes is his son, Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi). Uriel followed his father into the field of Talmudic studies, but while Eliezer's highly technical work has mostly been ignored, Uriel's broader research is quite popular within the field and his books, broad popular histories, are bestsellers. Uriel is also a much nicer guy and much better liked than his mean old crank of a father.
Eliezer's frustrated ambitions seem to have finally reached when he gets a phone call from the government. He has been awarded the Israel Prize, the highest cultural honor of the nation of Israel. Eliezer is basking in the acclaim (while still being a bitter misanthrope) when Uriel gets a shocking phone call. It seems that the Israel Prize was actually supposed to be for him, not his father, and Eliezer got the phone call by mistake.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: In the backstory. It's revealed that the biggest project of Eliezer's life, a 30-year-study of the Jerusalem Talmud proving that there was another version, was rendered moot when Grossman stumbled across the book that Eliezer was looking for, and published it.
- Answer Cut: Uriel comes out of the showers at the gym only to find that his bag with all his stuff—clothes, wallet—has been stolen. The younger man that he was playing with says "Would you like to borrow my clothes?" Cut to Uriel, wearing only a towel, at the front desk asking if there are any clothes in the Lost And Found.
- Bilingual Bonus: The committee notes that part of the reason for the screw-up with the phone call is that Eliezer and Uriel have first names that start with the same letter. That isn't true in the English subtitles, but it is true in Hebrew.
- Creative Closing Credits: The main closing credits are presented in the style of an old-fashioned microfilm reading machine, of the sort Eliezer uses when doing his research.
- Dramatic Sit-Down: Eliezer, out on a hike, sits down heavily when he's told that he has been awarded the Israel Prize.
- Establishing Character Moment: Eliezer is shown in the opening scene scowling angrily throughout the acceptance speech his son gets after winning an award. He sits while everyone else gives Uriel a standing ovation. Then when a photographer takes a photo after the speech, Uriel and the whole rest of the family are arm-in-arm while Eliezer stands apart. He's established as a misanthrope who doesn't even like his own family.
- Flashback: A brief flashback shows that Uriel was inspired to go into Talmudic studies because his mother once told teenaged Uriel not to bother Eliezer, because "your father has discovered something important."
- Generation Xerox: Uriel's relationship with his son Josh is shown to be almost as bad as the one between Uriel and Eliezer. Josh is a layabout who seems to have no interest in doing anything, which enrages his high-achieving father. Of course, the difference is that Uriel actually cares about which is more than can be said for Eliezer.
- Good News, Bad News: Uriel is irritated when Grossman tells him that there's good news and bad news, saying "Can we stop playing games?" The bad news, first, is that his father didn't win the Israel Prize, but the good news is that he did.
- Hates Everyone Equally: Eliezer has barely contained rage against—the whole world, really. Even after the acclaim of winning the Israel Prize, he can't stop himself from crapping on all the other people who've won the Israel Prize in recent years, because he considers them unworthy. He also insults his own son's work in very nasty terms.
- The Last DJ: Eliezer dislikes everyone else involved in Talmudic Studies in latter days, regarding all their work as "superficial". He regards his own highly technical, meticulous analysis of Talmudic texts as superior to anyone who actually tries to derive knowledge of the past. His interview about the Israel Prize leads Eliezer to call recent Talmudic research as "folklore", including that of his own son. As a teacher, Eliezer is stubborn enough to teach a course that has only one student in it.
- Leave the Camera Running: Eliezer is introduced in a shot that focuses on him for 4 1/2 minutes without cutting. First the film shows him and Uriel sitting next to each other at what turns out to be a function honoring Uriel—they stare straight forward without acknowledging each other's existence. Then, after Uriel gets up to give his speech, the camera stays on Eliezer in the audience, slowly zooming in to show the look of rage and contempt on his face as his son gives a graceful thank-you speech.
- Left Hanging: The film ends with Eliezer, who has put two and two together and realized that the Israel Prize was supposed to go to his son, standing in line at the ceremony. He is highly agitated. Will he go through with the ceremony, or will he walk out? Roll credits.
- The Rival: Professor Grossman. Back in the day, Grossman published the Jerusalem Talmud that he found and made Eliezer's work moot. Uriel accuses Grossman, who has risen high in academia, of restricting Eliezer's access to research material and preventing his work from being published, and even being so petty as to deny a doctorate application from a dying woman because that woman was Eliezer's student. It seems as if there will be some reveal as to why Grossman hates Eliezer so much, but there isn't; it seems to be just because Eliezer is obnoxious and unlikeable.
- The Stateroom Sketch: For some reason, the Israel Prize committee meets with Uriel, to deliver the bad news, in a ridiculously tiny closet of a room. People have to stand on chairs and move them around anytime anyone has to enter or exit, and Uriel keeps hitting another chair every time he opens the door.
- Title Drop: Some onscreen titles explain of Eliezer that "His most proud achievement is the footnote dedicated to him by Y.N. Feinstein," a Talmud scholar and Eliezer's mentor. Later, a title card that says simply "Footnote" introduces the scene where Uriel finds out that the prize was supposed to be for him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Despite actually being a more successful researcher and writer than his father, Uriel is enraged by Eliezer's lack of respect for his work.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: In one scene Uriel stumbles on his father in a secluded area of the university grounds, talking to a woman Uriel doesn't know. He wonders if his father is cheating. This plot thread is then dropped and never mentioned again.
