The Last Mentsch

Born Mena’hem Teitelbaum, Marcus Schwarz has denied his Jewish heritage all his life. After surviving the horrors of Auschwitz, he sought to forget the trauma by creating a new identity for himself in Germany, one without Jewish friends or ties. Now faced with his own mortality, he suddenly decides he wants to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. But much to his dismay, his word is not enough for the rabbis; he must prove that he is, in fact, Jewish. But with all his family gone and no remaining records, he has no evidence, save for the faded tattoo on his forearm. Marcus’s only hope is to return to the Hungarian village he grew up in to try to find proof of his birth. Needing a way to get there, he enlists a young Turkish woman to drive him. The unlikely duo—a sullen chain smoker and a gruff old man—set out on a road trip across Europe that will end up irrevocably changing them both. Award-winning documentarian Pierre-Henri Salfati’s foray into feature narrative filmmaking is a thoughtfully rendered story of friendship and healing, with nuanced performances including a turn by renowned German actor Mario Adorf as the hardened yet lovable Marcus. Poignant, funny and deeply moving, The Last Mentsch is a powerful, emotional journey. North American Premiere