Mendy (Ivan Sandomire), is a devout member of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect based in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. His entire life has been spent following the strict rules of his protective and repressive community. While visiting Yankel (Spencer Chandler), now known as Yankie, a... [More]

Mendy (Ivan Sandomire), is a devout member of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect based in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. His entire life has been spent following the strict rules of his protective and repressive community. While visiting Yankel (Spencer Chandler), now known as Yankie, a Chassid who left the community a few years earlier for a secular lifestyle, Mendy is introduced to the mystifying and forbidden world of sex, drugs, and unfettered hedonism. Both repelled and fascinated by the this new world, Mendy ultimately flees the Chassidic community and moves in with Yankie, leaving behind his friends, family and old world views in search of a new identity. The film is the story of Mendy’s metamorphosis as he struggles to adapt and find his place in modern society. While he is well versed in Talmudic texts, Jewish rules and law, Mendy speaks broken English, lacks a formal education, and knows nothing of the unspoken rules that govern most of modern society. The new rules and choices he encounters are infinite and confusing. But an unlikely and tender relationship with Yankie’s Brazilian roommate Bianca (in an award-winning performance from newcomer Gabriela Dias) opens his eyes to the possibilities of finding transcendence and spirituality in everyday life. The universal story of a young man on a quest for understanding, and wisdom, and love, Mendy is a emotional and honest portrait of the human condition. The film has a running time of 93 minutes and is not rated. [Less]