Genealogy is important in Judaism
As a person who’s engaged in my fair share of Jewish Geography with friends and random people, I know firsthand how genealogy is a subject unique to the Jewish community. When you’re part of a marginalized community, connecting and excavating your heritage takes on a unique weight. With Jewish history, there’s a real fear of one’s history being lost and finding that family history can connect you more with your past and yourself. In the documentary Fioretta, Randy Schoenberg, grandson of composer Arnold Schoenberg, does exactly that, use his genealogy journey to connect himself more with himself and his cultural identity.
Fioretta follows Randy Schoenberg and his son as they travel throughout Europe to find cousins and reclaimed over 500 years of family history. Randy’s genealogy work was showcased in the 2015 drama The Woman in Gold, where he was played by Ryan Reynolds, though this documentary is more self-directed. Director Matthew Mishory is effective at expressing the personal weight of Schoenberg’s journey. He dives into why genealogy is such a significant hobby amongst Jewish people and captures the heartwarming interconnectivity that stems from genealogy. Mishory and Randy regularly talk with newfound relatives and archivists about how forging these connections restore heritages that may be lost either to time, anti-Semitism, or both. When we see Randy walk through graveyards and attempt to read the old tombstones, or finding legers from centuries past, you empathize with the weight of his journey. Fioretta wears its heart on its sleave, for the better, as the sincerity helps make genealogy feel personal.
While the film is effective at making you empathize with Randy’s journey, its drawbacks come with painting a picture of the worlds its exploring. Genealogy is a niche interest, and the film really needed more cinematic elements to grab the audience’s attention. The filmmakers needed either photographs or archival footage to showcase the history Randy was diving into and the heritage he was reclaiming. Without that, the film we’re left with is pretty bare bonds and dry as a result.
I could easily picture the audience that would enjoy Fioretta, as geology is important in the Jewish community and there are absolutely people who would get caught up in the journey. But the film desperately needed some level of flair to make the film more audience friendly. It’s a touching story, but the film feels made more for Randy and his family than anyone else.
