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He filmed the Great American Novel — then this great Jewish filmmaker set his sights on the world's greatest restaurant

Summarizing Laurie Gwen Shapiro in Forward · Published Wednesday, November 22, 2023
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JL;DR SUMMARY Frederick Wiseman, at 93, continues to break new ground with his documentary filmmaking, this time by exploring the culinary world through a project focusing on the legendary Troisgros restaurant in France. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish Identity  Pbs  Documentary Film  Michelin Guide  Frederick Wiseman  French Cuisine  Direct Cinema  Troisgros Restaurant  Nouvelle Cuisine 

Places mentioned

Ouches, Rhône, France
"Wiseman embarked on a mission to discover the regions premier restaurant a quest that led him to the idyllic village of Ouches, located northwest of Lyon, where he found Troisgros, a three-starred culinary sanctuary acclaimed by food aficionados worldwide."
Kyiv, Ukraine
"His father, Jacob Leo Wiseman, was a survivor of the pogroms near Kyiv, Ukraine, who arrived in the U.S. as a five-year-old in 1890."
Brighton, Massachusetts, United States
"Frederick Wiseman grew up in Brighton, on the western edge of Boston."
New York, United States
"Wiseman, photographed here at the 2023 New York Film Festival, was a pioneer in the American direct cinema style."
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
"Frederick Wiseman grew up in Brighton, on the western edge of Boston."
Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
"His bar mitzvah was smack in the middle of World War II at Congregation Kehillath Israel, a conservative synagogue in Brookline; in between haftorah practice, he often listened to stories about battles on the radio."
Williams, Vermont, United States
"He was excited to be accepted to Williams College, but when he got there, his excitement soon turned to disillusionment during fraternity rush week, when he learned that the colleges social scene was dominated by fraternities that were often off-limits to Jewish students."
Fort Dix, New Jersey, United States
"Wiseman spent 21 months in the Army, working as a sound man at Fort Dix."
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
"At Yale, he met Zipporah Batshaw, known affectionately as Tzippy or Chippy, who became his lifelong partner. Chippy hailed from Montreal, and was among the rare women to earn a law degree from Yale in 1954."
Paris, Île-de-France, France
"After completing his service in 1956, he moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, courtesy of the G.I. Bill."
Venice, Veneto, Italy
"The film Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros premiered at the Venice Festival."
Roxbury, Quebec, Canada
"Later, she managed two summer camps in New Hampshire for impoverished children and was an administrator of the psychiatric ward of the James Jackson Psychiatric Childrens Center in Roxbury."
Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
"Wiseman embarked on a mission to discover the regions premier restaurant a quest that led him to the idyllic village of Ouches, located northwest of Lyon, where he found Troisgros, a three-starred culinary sanctuary acclaimed by food aficionados worldwide."

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