Holy Lands

The travails of a pig farmer in Israel are but one aspect of this multi-stranded family drama from Amanda Sthers, a popular French novelist now turned film-maker. James Caan, no less, is suitably crotchety as he raises his prize porkers despite opposition from a local rabbi (Tom Hollander), who befriends the American expat and discovers a tale of domestic discord behind his move to Israel. Meanwhile back in New York, there's an estranged ex-wife, a daughter dependent on him for her shrink bills and a gay playwright son to whom he hasn't spoken in years. Adapting her own novel, Sthers unwisely stifles the dramatic potential beneath a blanket of voiceover as the various family members exchange letters, while excerpts from the son's autobiographical play add more gloopy seriousness. The whole thing idles too long in neutral, which is a shame since Caan and the ever-likeable Hollander play off one another effectively. A bit of a dud, then, but still the only place you'll ever see Caan and Hollander (in full rabbinical garb) piping along to Jimmy Cliff's anthemic ballad Many Rivers to Cross.