Systems movie: Divan

“Divan” (2003, 77 minutes) is a nice addition to your list of “systems movies.” The documentary tells the story of Pearl Gluck, a “slipped” daughter of Hassidic parents.

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(Pearl Gluck on the divan)

“To reclaim an ancestral couch upon which esteemed rabbis slept, Pearl Gluck travels from her Hasidic community in Brooklyn to her roots in Hungary. Along the way, a colorful cast of characters gets involved – the couch exporter, her ex-communist cousin in Budapest, a pair of matchmakers, and a renegade group of formerly ultra-Orthodox Jews. Divan is a visual parable that offers the possibility of personal reinvention and cultural re-upholstery.”

The documentary is both a story of faith and “faith formation” but also a story about how an imaginative daughter worked at healing the cut-off with her father. One subtext of the movie (intentional or not) is how religion can mediate the communal and family “togetherness” forces. Several interviewees talk about their move toward individuation from an emotional and religiously rigid system. Highly recommended.