Classic Winnipeg Jewish film, The Mourning Suit, Restored
The Mourning Suit is a 1976 English-language film co-written and directed by Leonard Yakir. Filmed locally in Winnipeg, The film is an iconic Jewish movie which had its footage recently restored for the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of the Winnipeg Film Group.
Yakir grew up in the Jewish neighbourhood of the North End of Winnipeg and was the son of a Holocaust survivor. Although the story is fictional, the young Jewish protagonist, Herschel, shares many characteristics with Yakir, both of whom had recently arrived to Canada with immigrant parents. So although the movie is not a biopic, it is an insight into the life of Winnipeg Jews at the time.
The film is a touching exploration of Jewish identity, tradition, and personal transformation. Representing the classic immigrant battle between assimilating into a new country and preserving the heritage of the old country, this film offers a nuanced portrayal of a young man’s struggle to balance his personal desires with the cultural and religious expectations imposed upon him by both family and community.
The narrative delves deeply into themes of identity and belonging. Herschel’s journey is marked by his interactions with characters through whom various aspects of Jewish tradition and modernity are revealed. Herschel’s overbearing religious mother, wonderfully portrayed by Marcia Diamond, is a solid symbol of old-world values. She insists on strict adherence to Jewish customs while stymying any of Herschel’s modern thinking. She urges him to forsake the non-Jewish love of his life and mother of his child to marry within the faith.
The story follows Herschel’s growing relationship with an old tailor, who is an even stronger proponent of Jewish custom, and who dies suddenly, leaving Herschel unprepared for even the custom of reciting the mourner’s kaddish that is thrust upon him. The tailor’s morning gift of an old-style suit has become titular ‘mourning suit’. Throughout the film, this suit becomes the physical embodiment of his old-world Jewish heritage, and it symbolically carries the pressures he feels are being laid upon him by his family, which are at odds with his more modern and Canadian sensibilities and responsibilities
It is ultimately up to Herschel to choose his own fate. However, the film gives credence to both sides of the debate, which are pulling Herschel apart. Fittingly then, the movie ends ambiguously, with Herschel walking off, his final decision still unclear to the viewer. We are left to ponder the possible outcomes. It was a fitting ending to a film which delicately tried to show the intra-communal tensions around assimilation into “mainstream” Canadian culture.
Klara Belkin, a beloved Winnipeg cellist, is credited as the music consultant. She cleverly chose cello music to match the scenes. At the beginning of the film, for example, the Prelude from the first Bach cello suite symbolically accompanies the opening of the film, which has Herschel beginning to write a letter.
The cinematographer for The Mourning Suit was Henri Fiks. He aptly contrasted the bland, traditional interiors of the family home with the bustling and vibrant streets of Winnipeg. This thematically helps underline the protagonist’s internal conflict. Furthermore, he utilized the Canadian landscape as a background for the film to great effect, juxtaposing the cold and bleak outdoor winter with the indoor warmth of family gatherings. This thematically also further underlines elements of alienation and hostility contrasted with the warm embrace of home. Outside the house, Canada is presented often as uninvitingly bleak and cold, whereas, in scenes of family events the environments are more inviting and warm. This contrast is emblematic of the forces pulling Herschel apart.
Shot on classic 20mm film, The Mourning Suit, recently restored and improved, largely retains a classic aesthetic without sacrificing image quality. The old lenses have a softer vignette and colour rendition, producing warmer and more muted colour tones, while also darkening the corners. This is in stark contrast to the bright, sharp images of digital recording nowadays. So while this means the background is slightly out of focus and harder to see in dark scenes, this has the effect of drawing your attention to the characters on set, foregrounding them in the scene. The ‘graininess’ of 20mm film also seemingly affects the ‘grit’ of the movie’s scenes, enhancing it in my mind. Somehow the struggles seem more real through a textured lens, presenting a nuanced, uneven, and imperfect world, as opposed to the crystal-clear shutters of a digital lens which can often perversely feel too perfect and lacking in character.
It is a personal choice, one which is not suited for all movies, especially those reliant on set-piece action scenes. However, in a character-focused drama like The Mourning Suit, I believe the technological limitations of the era don’t undermine the film. In fact, they enhance the movie by focusing on what matters - the characters. If nothing else, the classic 20mm film provides nostalgia, which has a timeless merit of its own and renders the film more homely and inviting.