“Ever Again,” the latest documentary from the Moriah Films division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, presents itself as a clarion call to Americans about the ominous rise of anti-Semitism in England and Western Europe.
Alas, the film does not provide much in the way of quality information or insight, unless one is partial to long chunks of dissertation from Alan Dershowitz. But as a broad, unsophisticated example of agit-prop, it is highly instructive — although that’s not what its makers intended.
By raising the specter that Europe’s Jews face a serious threat that will get worse before it gets better, “Ever Again” provokes a strong emotional reaction without trying very hard. But that’s all it does, playing the viewer’s fear and paranoia buttons like an accordion.
One could argue, I suppose, that any movie that takes on anti-Semitism automatically deserves to be embraced and applauded, regardless of its lack of breadth or depth. But this documentary’s ambitions as either cinema, journalism or political science are so narrow, and its achievements so limited, that the film is best taken as a short, sharp elbow to the ribs.
Before the reader sets off to compose a vituperative letter to the editor, it might be good form to actually see the film. “Ever Again,” narrated by Kevin Costner with an earnest but languid drawl that’s at odds with the material, opens Friday, Dec. 8 for a brief run at San Francisco’s Opera Plaza Cinema ahead of its DVD release.
The villains “exposed” by the film include (predictably) young neo-Nazis in Germany and (not so predictably) the mayor of London, who insulted a Jewish journalist and has made less-than-favorable remarks about Israel.
But director Richard Trank’s primary target is radical Islam, represented by European-based imams preaching hate to disenfranchised and frustrated Muslim men.
The film asserts that the increase in anti-Semitic attacks is fueled by the imams, a claim of undeniable merit. But the Moriah filmmakers ignore the larger and more complex context.
For starters, Iraq is not mentioned, which is a curious omission. It seems indisputable that the U.S. invasion and occupation has inflamed anti-American and (because the U.S. is Israel’s staunchest ally) anti-Zionist attitudes among Arabs throughout the world.
Likewise, the ongoing battle between Israel and the Palestinians continues to fuel the ire of Muslim immigrants in England and Western Europe, but “Ever Again” glosses over that fact.
Meanwhile, in France, the attitude of the government and the people toward Arab immigrants has been less than enlightened. It’s hardly radical to suggest that the initial anger of the Arab community did not materialize out of thin air — or from the imams’ pulpits.
Speaking of the imams, isn’t it possible that they don’t believe half of what they preach, and cynically use Israel and Jews as hobbyhorses to rally their base, raise money and solidify their power? (This is the model that evangelical ministers in the U.S. have perfected, using abortion and gay marriage as the issues to rouse their congregations. The fact that they support Israel, for their own reasons, doesn’t make the strategy more palatable.)
“Ever Again” is primarily concerned with the increased anti-Semitism that is the net result of these various factors, and so should we. But instead of a warning, a response to a building wave of malevolence and danger, the film feels like an opportunistic thrust at the Arab world.
The film’s title, a riff on “never again,” evokes the Holocaust to give more punch to the current threat to European Jews. In case you missed the point, near the end the filmmakers include an interview with a childhood friend of Anne Frank describing the girl’s transport to Auschwitz.
It is a shameless bit of manipulation that is perfectly in keeping with the rest of the film, but underscores the need for a more scrupulous documentary about the present state of anti-Semitism in Europe.
“Ever Again” opens Friday, Dec. 8 at Opera Plaza Cinema, 601 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco.