鈥淣orman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer鈥� is a delightful movie. Directed by Joseph Cedar (鈥淏eaufort,鈥� 鈥淔ootnote鈥�), it tells the story of Norman Oppenheimer, a gentle if somewhat overbearing middle-aged man, who operates as a wheeler-dealer on the fringe of New York Jewish society. Oppenheimer has a murky past and a gloomy present. He does not seem to have much of a family, a physical office, or even a home. But one day he runs into Micha Eshel, a rising star in Israeli politics, and in the spur of the moment buys him a pair of expensive shoes as a gift. Eshel is touched by the unexpected gesture, and three years later, when he becomes Israel鈥檚 prime minister, the two reconnect. What follows is a series of tragicomic events that change both men鈥檚 lives forever.
鈥淣orman鈥� has an impressive cast, including Richard Gere in the main role, Lior Ashkenazi as the Israeli politician, and Steven Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Michael Sheen, and Hank Azaria. The exaggerated Jewish characters, the over-the-top accents, the Woody Allen-like dialogues, and even the soundtrack, all place 鈥淣orman鈥� firmly within contemporary American Jewish culture. This, together with the movie鈥檚 many subtle criticisms of Israeli politics, makes it a natural American sequel to Cedar鈥檚 wonderful previous film, 鈥淔ootnote,鈥� which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2012 in the category of Best Foreign Film (Cedar is Israeli). And yet there is more to 鈥淣orman鈥� than immediately meets the eye.
Three hundred years ago, there lived another Jewish 鈥渇ixer鈥� named Oppenheimer whom 鈥淣orman鈥� is clearly referencing. His full name was Joseph S眉ss Oppenheimer, though he is better known today as 鈥淛ew S眉ss.鈥� Just like Cedar鈥檚 fictional character, the historical Oppenheimer started too as a small time operator, befriended an up-and-coming politician, and quickly rose to power. And just like his modern namesake, Joseph S眉ss Oppenheimer eventually also fell from power in scandal and disgrace.
S眉ss Oppenheimer was born in Heidelberg in 1698, and became in 1733 the 鈥渃ourt Jew鈥� (personal banker and advisor) of the duke of the small German state of W眉rttemberg. He quickly became rich and powerful. But when the duke died unexpectedly in 1737, the local authorities arrested Oppenheimer, put him on trial, and finally executed him for a series of made-up charges, including treason and sexual transgressions against Christian women.
Extremely well known in other parts of the world, in the United States 鈥淛ew S眉ss鈥� is remembered today mainly through a vicious Nazi propaganda movie made about him in 1940 at the behest of Joseph Geobbels. In a recent interview with the Israeli newspaper 贬补鈥檋补谤别迟锄, Cedar acknowledged the influence of this background story on 鈥淣orman.鈥� What does Cedar gain or lose by drawing a parallel between Norman Oppenheimer and 鈥淛ew S眉ss鈥�? This much is clear: though the historical Oppenheimer was executed nearly three centuries ago, his trial never really ended. Already during his trial, it was clear that what was being placed in the scales of justice was not any of the accused鈥檚 supposed crimes. Rather, the significance of his story is to be found in the role it came to play as a parable about Jews鈥� attempts to integrate themselves into modern, non-Jewish society. Here was a man who tried to fit in, and seemed to for a time, but who was eventually rejected; a Jew who enjoyed much success but then faced extreme prejudice, prosecution, and eventually death. Thus, at every juncture when Europeans addressed the 鈥淛ewish Question,鈥� the story of this man moved to center stage, where it was investigated, dramatized, and even set to music.
It is no exaggeration to say that 鈥淛ew S眉ss鈥� is to the European collective imagination what Shakespeare鈥檚 Shylock is to educated Americans today. Therein lies 鈥淣orman鈥檚鈥� ultimate weakness. Tying it to the story of 鈥淛ew S眉ss鈥� without ever mentioning anti-Semitism is to flatten a three-dimensional story. It鈥檚 akin to claiming that the Merchant of Venice is only about Shylock鈥檚 relationship with other Jews. Modern Jewish history, in the eighteenth century as well as today, is more than just the story of machers and more, too, than how Jews treat themselves. In that respect, and though it is really quite delightful, 鈥淣orman鈥� is an unsatisfying movie. It is not a good retelling of the story of the legendary 鈥淛ew S眉ss.鈥�
Yair Mintzker is associate professor of history at 快色直播 University. He is the author of The Many Deaths of Jew S眉ss: The Notorious Trial and Execution of an Eighteenth-Century Court Jew.