“Love Comes Lately” is 28th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Centerpiece film.While browsing on SFJFF website, the film drew my attention as it had great cast. The screening was on Sunday, followed by Q&A with the film’s director. It was perfect, and I knew I was in for an interesting and exciting evening.
Directed by Austrian director Jan Shutte, the film is based on Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 3 short stories: “The Briefcase”, “Old Lov” and ‘Alone”. It revolves around the character of Max Kohn, a self-centered retired writer from New York whose vivid imagination merges reality with fiction. The film has great cast with Rhea Pearlman as Max’s girlfriend, Barbara Hershey as a former student, and Elizabeth Pena as imaginary hotel attendant who is charmed by Max Kohn’s gentlemanly manners.
However, despite the great cast and the humoristic nature of Isaac Bahsevis Singer’s stories, the film turned out to be a disappointment. All 3 stories were joined together in a somewhat irrelevant manner, with the ending that didn’t carry any meaning in connection to the stories in the film. I would give it 2 ½ out of 5 stars.
Watch trailer here.
The film’s West Coast premier at Castro theatre on Sunday, 
July 27, 2008 drew a huge crowd. Castro theatre, which took its name after Castro street it is located on, was packed. The audience consisted of all age groups and was very receptive to film's short introduction by SF Jewish Festival's director. After the screening, “Love Comes Lately" director Jan Shutte was available for Q&A. He talked about the challengers creators experienced while shooting the film on a shoestring budget, as well as the secret behind securing such a great cast- the fact that all female parts were offered to older actresses, who jumped on the opportunity to play girl-friends and love interests instead of mother roles usually offered to them.
The performance of the female leads definitely made a difference in this film with funny and uncanny delivery of the material on the screen.
The atmosphere at the festivals is usually more intimate and open, the audiences feel more connected to the film as they have an opportunity to meet the director and/or cast and ask questions, or simply make comments about the film. This is exactly what happened at the West Coast premier of “Love Comes Lately” on Sunday. The vibe of excitement and acceptance dominated inside the theatre. The audience was laughing throughout the film, and it ended with enthusiastic applause. You simply cannot experince anything like that at a regular movie theater.
It reminded me one more time why film festivals are always worth attending.
The Centerpiece screening was sponsored by Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture.
