Hava Nagila: The Movie (2013)
Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 28
Fresh: 25 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 12
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 347
Movie Info
It is instantly recognizable - musical shorthand for anything Jewish, a happy party tune that you dance to at weddings, bar mitzvahs and even at Major League Baseball games. It conjures up wistful smiles, memories of generations past...and no shortage of eye rolling. But as audiences will discover in Hava Nagila (The Movie), the song is much more than a tale of Jewish kitsch and bad bar mitzvah fashions. It carries with it an entire constellation of history, values and hopes for the future. In
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All Critics (28) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (3)
Thankfully there are enough eloquent talking heads to keep this watchable.
Top CriticA slight, but very satisfying, and at times, surprisingly moving, documentary about the inescapable Jewish anthem and wedding and bar mitzvah music staple.
An entertaining examination of the "kitschy and profound" song's cultural and historical origins.
It's a fun, nostalgic, informative journey.
The attitude is so much fun and the story so involving that a little naches is forgivable.
Even the occasional bad jokes feel like part of this story.
The film is alternately fascinating and entertaining, though you'll likely be sick of hearing the familiar melody by the time it's through.
You know you're in for an irreverent documentary when the narrator asks: "What's up with this song?"
The film isn't slick and doesn't have the greatest production values I've ever seen, but it's still an enjoyable romp through the history of a great song.
A whimsical and even occasionally profound documentary about the origins of this time-honoured Jewish tune.
It is annoying, frustrating, embarrassing, and irresistible, which makes it a perfect Rorschach test and intriguing metaphor for contemporary Jewish identity.
What does it mean? Do we really care? We should.
Balancing the anecdotal with the informative, this charming docu at once celebrates and explains the origins of the iconic Jewish tune.
As one interviewee says the song "is a melody that evokes new life, hope, and joy." The song does that and so does HAVA NAGILA (THE MOVIE).
Fun and illuminating...The movie as well as the song serve as fitting, entertaining testaments to the resilience of the Jewish people.
Entertainingly traces the origins of the ubiquitous song and how it became worldwide kitsch [but] gets wearyingly redundant like a party that has gone on too long.
Everything you ever wanted to know about Hava Nagila but were afraid to ask, except:: 'What's the deal with the ritual of raising a chair in the air like you don't care?'
One of those rare, crowd-pleasing documentaries that compels you to tap your toes and leaves you with a great big smile on your face from ear to ear upon exiting the theater.
Audience Reviews for Hava Nagila: The Movie
Narrated by actress Rusty Schwimmer (North Country, The Perfect Storm), the film is basically one long history lesson, tracking the song's evolution over the last couple of centuries. Its origins begin nearly two hundred years ago in the Ukraine where families still war over who actually authored it. Over time the song came to mean many different things as it moved around the world and became enveloped in the culture of different people. Doubtful anyone expected it would turn up in America co-opted into our television shows and covered by musicians of literally every genre. Harry Belafonte, who ran it into the ground during his lengthy career, is probably the biggest name to turn up and sing its praises. While the film maintains a light, bouncy attitude, it also shows that the song had special significance during the most trying times in Jewish history, namely during the Holocaust. Strangely, the snarky, ironic tone doesn't really change even then.
Informative and often quite a joy to watch, there's the sense that Grossman is stretching to meet the 73-minute runtime. So we get lots of added fluff, mostly in the form of interviews with people who have nothing of importance to add to the discussion. There is one exception and that's the inclusion of the Klezmatics, a klezmer band who would rather do anything than play Hava Nagila. A documentary on them would be a hoot.
Like the song itself, Hava Nagila: The Movie may only appeal to those who are in the right mood for it. For them, the film will be a cheery, nostalgic journey. For everyone else, all they'll get out of it is a really irritating earworm for a few days.
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Foreign Titles
- Hava Nagila - The Movie (DE)
- Hava Nagila (The Movie) (UK)
