Stories
Of The Baal Shem Tov (2014 aka Master
Of The Good Name/VSC DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C Main Program: C+
Let's
welcome the Baal Shem Tov; a holy man, a rabbi, and a Jew. Through
folklore and children's stories he teaches Jewish values and virtues.
Through daily life, nature, passion or just faith alone Baal Shem
Tov teaches that anyone, rich or poor, can be good in their Judaism
in Director Tawd B. Dorenfeld's animated Stories Of The Baal Shem
Tov (2014 aka Master Of The Good Name.
The
stories of Baal Shem Tov are a series of short stories involving how
Baal Shem Tov, through history and his wisdom, teaches the story of
the Jews. The Baal Shem Tov was a prophet, savior, and folk hero,
much like the Bible's Moses, Jesus and John the Baptist rolled into
one. The stories teach how the center of Jewish life is sacrifice,
it is considered the hallmark of Jewish history, even the poorest
family can save a little each day to find a way to give to the
priesthood and the community. In the end, the Torah is not the be
all, end all, but the Baal Shem Tov teaches the spirit of Judaism is
to find joy and happiness in what has been given and not what one
wants.
This was a story for Jew kids to learn the virtue of
humility and to not value material wealth, but to give it all to
either God, the community leaders or others in need. Funny thing is,
the stories seemed ONLY to apply to the poor, no where does it say
for the wealthy in the community to do the same (doesn't seem really
fair, but God forbid the rich to ever give back to the poor).
Though
its great to see any Claymation today, the anamorphically enhanced
image and lossy Dolby Digital sound are weaker than anyone would
like, so a Blu-ray release would definitely benefit this one. Extras
include Psalm with Rosanne Barr, a behind the scenes clip and
trailer.
-
Ricky Chiang
