Whether at the charity office or in her kitchen over a late-night meal, Ariel’s various attempts to crack through and get her to speak to him end up illuminating his communication shortcomings with important figures in his life.Īlan Sabbagh and Julieta Zylberberg in “The Tenth Man”Īs much as it focuses on religious identity, “The Tenth Man” balances discussions of faith with a clear portrait of city life. As the days pass before the holiday, Ariel offers his time at Usher’s charity, making deliveries to hospital patients and negotiating with the local butcher. Through his efforts to help out, Ariel spends more time with Eva (Julieta Zylberberg), a young woman whose Orthodox beliefs restrict any physical contact between them and leaves Ariel talking to a silent partner. Home from New York for the week before Purim, Ariel (Alan Sabbagh) spends most of his days reconnecting with the Jewish neighborhood in the Argentinian capital, forestalling an eventual reunion with his estranged father Usher. Focusing on the personal, it keeps its scope small, to mostly compelling effect.

Just as writer/director Daniel Burman asks us to understand people and ideas we cannot see, the story of a middle-aged Jewish man’s Buenos Aires homecoming becomes defined by what keeps its attention. For a story where faith plays a pivotal role, it’s appropriate that two of the pivotal characters in “The Tenth Man” are perpetually off-screen.

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