Sunday, August 31, 2008

Movie review and filmmaker interview: Praying With Lior

An unlikely rock star of davening prepares for his Bar Mitzvah.

By John P. Meyer

Jewish religious observance includes the practice of davening, which can best be described to non-Jewish folks as prayer. Only davening is a lot more energetic than the way most Protestants, for example, think of prayer: it involves communal chanting and singing. And it typically has a melodic element.

Which is what brought Lior Liebling to the notice of Ilana Trachtman, who - on a spiritual retreat away from the confines of her own big city synagogue - heard his spirited voice engaged in the most enthusiastic prayer, but couldn't help noticing he was off-key.

Interview: Ilana Trachtman

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Turning around, she saw that this incredibly exuberant davener was a boy with down syndrome. But this was not the most surprising thing about Trachtman's experience: what stood out was the way that Lior's fellow congregants accepted him and encouraged his participation. Everyone seemed to know him; everyone deferred to him; bottom-line, he was an integral part of the group.

Thus the idea of a documentary film was born, because Ilana, it turns out, was (and is) a filmmaker with a number of TV production and directing credits. When she approached Lior's father about the possibility of carrying out the project, he proved to be enthusiastically supportive of the idea. Which led eventually to an arrangement whereby Ilana was given a key to the Liebling house, with the understanding that she could come and go as she pleased.

What results is an intimate portrayal of Lior's home life. Not only do we get up-close and personal with Lior, but also with his two sisters (one younger, one older) and his older brother, along with his step-mom and dad.

We also get a glimpse of Lior from home movies taken when he was much younger and his Mom, Rabbi Devora Bartnoff, was still alive. At the age of five or six, we see, Lior is already praying his heart out and looking forward to Sabbath services. Devora wrote an article about her son's extraordinary gift for davening in 1997, and the film includes some haunting quotes from this text. (You can read it for yourself by going here and scrolling down to "Additional Articles." Click on "Devora Bartnoff's 'Praying with Lior'" to download the document.)

Devora writes about overhearing a lady in shul saying to someone, "Imagine what his Bar Mitzvah will be like!" And this sticks with her, because she knows she may not be around to see it.

But, thanks to filmmaker Trachtman, we are around to see it, and the days leading up to it, and it makes for some inspiring - and surprisingly entertaining - viewing. Not to mention a good deal of tension, as we discover the high expectations that Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Lior's Dad, has for his son's high-profile coming of age.

What's immediately noticeable about Lior is that he's such a happy kid; which makes perfect sense when we get a feel for the Liebling household, which is so incredibly loving. It's inconceivable that anyone could emerge from such an upbringing with a dim view of the world or a grudge against society. Lior - being both happy and hyper - demands a level of attention that would drive many people crazy, but his dad and stepmom have learned to channel his energies and bank the fires of his enthusiasm in a non-combative and ultimately constructive manner. (Much of this 87-minute film could be viewed to good effect as a child-rearing documentary.)

In personal interviews, we discover that Lior's younger sister is admittedly jealous of the attention Lior receives, which she thinks might have been given over to her under different circumstances. But any sense of resentment is allayed when we observe her candidly interacting with Lior: she's loving and accommodating and supportive.

Lior's older brother, who's about to go away to college, is truly a gift from God. He plays games with Lior, helps him with his wardrobe and generally treats him like a best buddy.

There's a fascinating sequence during which Trachtman's film crew visits Lior's school, the Politz Hebrew Academy of Philadelphia. We see first-person interviews with a number of Lior's classmates, and - as noted in our phone interview - these boys are remarkably sanguine in their response to questions involving what they think of their special needs classmate, and how he's affected their lives.

Bottom line: they are predominantly supportive - the documented exception being when they choose up sides for a game of touch football.

Events culminate with the Bar Mitzvah itself, which Congregation Mishkan Shalom allowed Trachtman to film "after engaging in a values-based decision making process." It's gratifying to see Lior getting to experience his long-anticipated right of passage ceremony. It's also obvious that the event is as important - and emotional - for his fellow celebrants as it is for him. Probably more so.

Before the credits roll, we briefly revisit Lior two years after his Bar Mitzvah, as he's starting a special needs high school curriculum. Lior's voice has deepened and he appears somewhat less hyper - but he's still one happy young man.

I spoke with Ilana Trachtman by phone while she was traveling in Canada. You can meet and speak to her in person this coming Thursday (Sept. 4) at a special benefit screening of Praying With Lior at Dallas' Angelika Theater.

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