There is a new film opening this weekend about a trans-European investigation into a religious history. No, I'm not talking about The Da Vinci Code. That opened last weekend. The film I'm referring to is called Shem, and it is a much, much smaller release telling the story of a young man as he searches for his Judaic roots.
Written and directed by Caroline Roboh, whose last film, Clémentine Tango, came out over 20 years ago, Shem is also concerned with the sexual adventures of this young man as he travels across the continent. To give a basic sense of the plot, the filmmaker could have titled the picture How I Learned to Stop Screwing Around and Love My Heritage, but instead its simple title is the Hebrew word for "name," which is meant to bear the importance of names for a people who once saw their identities ignored and substituted with numbers.
Daniel (Ash Newman) shows little respect towards either his own name or himself, continually introducing himself under new aliases throughout the trip. He also has little interest in the Jewish faith and lacks a conscious association with the Holocaust. The only thing he cares about is sex. Lots of sex. With anyone and everyone.
As the movie begins in London, Daniel is in bed with an older woman (Roboh). It appears to be a one-night stand, as he gets up slowly and quietly, writes out a good-bye note and attempts to slip away unnoticed. The woman catches him, though, and it turns out that not only has he been seeing her for quite some time, he's also been sleeping with her teenage son, who is the actual recipient of the note. Daniel tells the woman that her boy is the better lay and he will miss him more than her. Nevertheless, mother and son are still no more to Daniel than another casual affair, and he leaves them both behind without a care.
That sequence is beautifully handled and it gives a terrific set-up for Daniel's aloof, soulless persona. Unfortunately it is the best part of the film, which could be completely satisfying as a story about the protagonist's struggle with sexual addiction if it didn't have to also be concerned with his propelling mission.
After leaving his two lovers, Daniel also quits his advertising job and then visits with his grandmother (Hadassah Hunger Diamant). She tells him the story of her father, a rabbi who sent his family to England but never fulfilled his promise to join them. Knowing only her father's name and approximately the year he died, she asks Daniel to find the missing man's grave.
So, Daniel sets out on his journey, which takes him to Paris, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia and Rome, in that order, and he eventually finds out that his great-grandfather was a very important man. Along the way, he's followed, questioned, threatened, kidnapped and nearly killed, and the only reason given is that his quest is not welcomed. Why he is being obstructed and who is behind the obstruction are questions that either aren't adequately answered or just didn't resonate with me after the film's end. Either way they are part of a mystery without proper resolution, which would make the storyline frustrating and unnecessary if it weren't already these things in its procession of ridiculous scenes anyway.
Far more interesting is the sex and more sex and desires for sex that Daniel has leading up to his completion of grandma's request. His first encounter is with a woman (Cyrielle Claire) on the train to Berlin. Later he does a bisexual boy who dresses him up in drag. But he finally draws the line with pre-pubescent prostitutes in Sofia. Thank God!
An extended sequence in Berlin has Daniel staying with the gorgeous Zara (Geraldine de Bastion). She likes women, which means he can't hook up with her, and it also means he wants her even more. For the anything-goes Daniel, a lesbian is just another prospect, a more challenging one, who is simply unaware that she wants him too. Of course, she never does, even when he explains that he has fallen in love with her. The fascinating thing about Daniel's confession is that Roboh treats the scene somewhat revealingly and somewhat casually, perfectly balanced to make it a curious declaration. He could be telling the truth, or he could be lying, but as unsure as the audience is of his feelings, it marks the possibility that Daniel might be confused, himself.
The relationship between Daniel and Zara is a wonderful part of Shem, and after the opening sequence, it is the film's most effective segment. While plots involving suave man-whores and the gay women they pursue seem abundant in movies these days, the chemistry between Newman and de Bastion keeps their story from becoming stale. I could have been happier had Zara's girlfriend not come home from her trip and caused Daniel to move on. There is certainly more to investigate with Daniel's soul in that scenario than in his subsequent pilgrimage.
Newman makes most of the film work, though, and it is no surprise that he became the youngest winner of the Best Actor Award at the 2004 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for his performance. And yet some of his efficiency in the role is the consequence of two films that came out between that recognition and now. Newman is a very pretty boy who at different times either resembles Jude Law or Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, therefore evoking those actors' similar roles in Alfie and Match Point, respectively. That isn't to say that Newman isn't independently remarkable; like Law and Rhys Meyers, his talent extends beyond his good looks.
Shem lacks a consistent tone and is void of any discernible style from Roboh, but where it diverts in plausibility or uniformity, it also stays away from being too predictable. However, a lot of the film is just downright silly, and Daniel's two conflicts have a difficulty converging into one concise point. The character's change in the end is still believable, though, despite some of its cause making little sense, and I credit the success of the transformation on Newman's abilities.
Even though Roboh has good intentions with her film -- suggesting the importance for young Jewish people to care about the faith and help with the memory of the Shoah -- she never really accomplishes a strong argument for the weight of her objective, particularly to an audience as indifferent as or more indifferent than Daniel is to these beliefs. It is likely to be relevant to elders who share in the cause, but the youths who Roboh hopes to influence are likely to wish for Daniel to remain an empty, albeit exciting, character, or at least see him find something more pertinent to their own lives, like true love.
