Dr. Emanuel Bronner was a master soap maker, self-proclaimed rabbi, and, allegedly, Albert Einstein's nephew. In 1947, after escaping from a mental institution, he invented the formula for "Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap," a peppermint-infused, all-natural, multi-purpose liquid that can be found today in every American health food store. On each bottle of his soap, he printed an ever-evolving set of teachings he called "The Moral ABC," designed, in his words, "To unite all mankind free!"
What emerges is a complex portrait of a man who cares more for humanity than for his own children, often left to languish in orphanages while their father scoured bodies and minds.
Tyro helmer Sara Lamm satisfyingly stitches together the family soap opera into a comfortable crazy quilt without sacrificing its unique, oddly topical edge.
Although the segments featuring Bronner's son, Ralph, veer uncomfortably toward hagiography, director Sara Lamm balances out the love fest by exploring the dark side of being a soap-hawking prophet and the toll that ALL-ONE-FAITH took on Bronner's family.
You know there's a story behind Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, and filmmaker Sara Lamm hopes you're interested in hearing it. Luckily the story behind the suds is a pretty good one.
"Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox" is a moderately interesting documentary about Dr. Emmanuel Bronner who left Europe as the Nazis came to power, leaving behind relatives who died in the Holocaust. In America, he founds a successful company which fulfils the basic requirement for the American dream. That does not satisfy
him, as he puts his personal philosophy of Moral ABC's and uniting the world on every bottle of soap he sells.(I had never heard of his soap before but then I am so totally ignorant of most consumer products.) And then there is the small matter of him being confined to a mental hospital which he escapes from in 1947, eventually making his way to Los Angeles.(In a promotional photo, he looks exactly like a stereotypical mad scientist.) Did I mention that he never shuts up, even now that he is dead? Or that he was blind? In the present day, his son Ralph continues to spread the word and the soap, as the company continues on, run by Emmanuel's grandsons, providing bonuses and equitable salaries to all of its employees, despite Emmanuel's ardent anti-Communism.
May 5, 2010
Walter M.
Super Reviewer
Dear Netflix: thank you for carrying this movie that explains why the Bronner family is as crazy and unstable as they truly are.
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