Abe

Review by Leah Shedrow

The Short:

A film about a quiet twelve-year-old boy who finds food as his only solace to escape his explosive family from constantly bickering about their Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian-Muslim backgrounds.

The Long:

Known sometimes Avraham, sometimes Ibrahim, or just Abe as he prefers, is an unassuming twelve-year-old boy who spends his time obsessively posting his food creations on tumblr and dodging his always-at-odds Israeli and Palestinian family. To distract himself, he spends his days inventing new fusion foods and exploring the bustling food festivals of Brooklyn in a quest to discover new flavors. Upon diligently researching the food festival, Abe discovers an up-and-coming Brazilian chef, Chico, who became renowned for his Brazilian specialty similar to Abe’s grandmother’s falafel. Abe decides to track him down and convince Chico to let him work in his kitchen and learn his trade; all while Abe’s parents think he’s at a cooking camp designed for first-time child cooks. 

Abe slowly works his way up from lowly dish and trash boy to Chico’s personal prodigy in the kitchen-- all while Abe explores religious customs of both his Jewish and Muslim sides. The more his parents become disenchanted with Abe’s interest in both religions, Abe becomes more dedicated to his work with Chico, creating new fusion food to represent all layers of his cultural background. In a courageous attempt to stop his grandparents from arguing about politics and bring peace to his parents, Abe invites everyone over for dinner, presenting them with a masterpiece display of all things fusion. A disastrous series of events ensues, causing Abe’s breaking point and his departure from his home. 

Distraught over Abe’s disappearance, both sides of Abe’s family come together and realize that the importance of Abe’s well-being reigns supreme over their misconceptions and prejudices of one another.

To watch or not to watch:

Absolutely watch! If not attracting Stranger Things fans for the delightful performance of Noah Schnapp as Abe, this movie is a touching story about family at its core-- and delicious food, of course! The pain of Abe’s struggle with being torn in opposite directions is tangible and adds a dimension of authenticity and heart to this charming film.