Documentary or Satire? Decoding Albert Brooks' "Real Life" with Eddie Schmidt" | Jews on Film

Harry and Daniel welcome acclaimed director Eddie Schmidt to the pod to discuss Albert Brooks’ pioneering meta-documentary “Real Life,” released in 1979. 

Join them as they track the film’s exploration of truth and reality, and Brooks’ repeated meddling in the “reality” of his subjects. They then consider the different modes of performance in the film, and discuss how a God-fearing Jew is uniquely equipped to survive in an overly-observed world. Finally, they discuss the shlemiel and shlimazel archetypes and debate which each of the characters represents in the film. As always, they rank the film's "Jewishness" in terms of its cast & crew, content, and themes.

Stick around for the end of the podcast to hear a little bit more about Eddie‘s latest project “Good One: A Show About Jokes" and some of the parallels to "Real Life" as well as how he set out capturing Mike Birbiglia’s process in creating a special.

Real Life Trailer

Real Life on IMDb

Eddie's Links

Eddie Schmidt on Instagram

Good One: A Show About Jokes

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