It's 1673 Lithuania (note: everyone is awfully clean for 1673) in a small Jewish village. Hanna chafes at the culture's enforced role: she studies her husband's Kabbalah texts in secret and goes to the local healer to make sure she doesn't get pregnant again, after having lost her only child Josef in a drowning accident seven years ago. When neighboring plague-ridden Russian Christians start oppressing her village, Hanna uses the secrets of Kabbalah she has learned to create a golem to protect her people. Rather than the hulking monster of Jewish lore, her golem takes Josef's form - and though child-sized, it still manages to kill a lot of people, both Russian villains and innocent Lithuanian villagers. There are a LOT of exploding heads and ripped-out hearts.
The Golem has a lot going for it. It is original, with a fairly deep dive (for a mainstream movie) into Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. It is well-acted, although I thought some of Hanna's dialogue seemed a little anachronistic. There isn't a ton of violence even with the heads and hearts as mentioned above. I just found it a bit boring and not at all suspenseful or scary. (For an example of a 1600s-set film that is both suspenseful and scary: The Witch.) Or maybe I didn't connect with it because I'm not a fan of creepy kid horror movies - and this Josef-golem is creepy. Other reviewers have liked The Golem a lot: see here, and here. I could appreciate it but it's not a favorite.
Happy Halloween, y'all!
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