Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

January 21, 2025

A Movie about Two Jews Exploring Their Family’s Past Endorses a Limited Understanding of History

A Real Pain.

“Theodor Adorno said there could be no poetry after Auschwitz,” writes Emil Stern, “but he didn’t say anything about buddy movies.” Stern was moved to this observation by the recent film A Real Pain—written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, who also plays one of the main characters—about two Jewish cousins who visit Poland to learn about their family history. Stern comments:

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