A Jewish-American portrait of familial love and legacy

By Etta Chinskey

Tickling Leo is a powerful film about the aftermath of the terrible choices Jews were forced to make during the Holocaust. It follows a family whose complicity in Rudolph Kastner's train continues to keep them estranged from one another. The bitter legacy of Kastner's train — which left Hungary for Switzerland with 1700 handpicked Jews as part of a deal Kastner made with the Nazis — in turn keeps the family alive but is also the very thing that keeps them from truly living.

The narrative opens in Central Park, where Zak (Daniel Sauli), the youngest of the Pikler men, and his girlfriend Delphina (Annie Parrisse), celebrate their growing affection for each other. After a troubling phone call from his uncle about his father's declining mental health, Zak takes Delphina on a road trip up to the Catskills to meet his father.  Delphina is both intrigued and concerned about Zak's father Warren, an aging poet played by Lawrence Pressman, and her presence slowly allows him to reveal the secret behind his silence.

While limited flashbacks keep the story rooted in its horrifying past, the movie is really the story of three generations of Jewish men who have been unable to communicate with each other in the absence of the women they have loved; and In many ways, this movie is simply a story about fathers and sons. It is both an epic tale of survival and a deeply intimate series of scenes about how secrets can unravel a family.

Centered around the time of Yom Kippur (apt, as the New Year looms), the script deals with themes of confession and redemption, and ultimately judgment,  as each character eventually pays for their sins. The movie is a lesson in patience.  Each character in the movie seems to have waited a life-time to get where they are in this moment, so it only seems fair that the audience experiences that same gnawing anticipation.

As the journey reaches its climax, we are introduced to the eldest Pikler, Emil (Eli Wallach), and the final secrets spill out into Zak's open hands. Once Zak has this knowledge he is both freed from the weight of his father' hurtful behavior, and equally trapped by the legacy that his grandfather unveils. Though Delphina is the most likable character throughout the film, it is Zak who we are ultimately beholden to by the end of the film. As American Jews, Zak's journey is the one that we most deeply recognize. And like Zak we are both relieved and repulsed by the secrets that are finally revealed.

This haunting film, written and directed by Jeremy Davidson, was shot in a record 14 days, is acted beautifully by a committed cast recognizable from various Law and Order episodes. It feels more like a play than a movie. Tickling Leo, will not fill you with the same pride and triumph that Defiance so sweetly delivered, but it will show you another side to the story of Jewish survival. A side that is not nearly as grand, but just as important to remember.

By Etta Chinskey

Tickling Leo is a powerful film about the aftermath of the terrible choices Jews were forced to make during the Holocaust. It follows a family whose complicity in Rudolph Kastner's train continues to keep them estranged from one another. The bitter legacy of Kastner's train — which left Hungary for Switzerland with 1700 handpicked Jews as part of a deal Kastner made with the Nazis — in turn keeps the family alive but is also the very thing that keeps them from truly living.

The narrative opens in Central Park, where Zak (Daniel Sauli), the youngest of the Pikler men, and his girlfriend Delphina (Annie Parrisse), celebrate their growing affection for each other. After a troubling phone call from his uncle about his father's declining mental health, Zak takes Delphina on a road trip up to the Catskills to meet his father.  Delphina is both intrigued and concerned about Zak's father Warren, an aging poet played by Lawrence Pressman, and her presence slowly allows him to reveal the secret behind his silence.

While limited flashbacks keep the story rooted in its horrifying past, the movie is really the story of three generations of Jewish men who have been unable to communicate with each other in the absence of the women they have loved; and In many ways, this movie is simply a story about fathers and sons. It is both an epic tale of survival and a deeply intimate series of scenes about how secrets can unravel a family.

Centered around the time of Yom Kippur (apt, as the New Year looms), the script deals with themes of confession and redemption, and ultimately judgment,  as each character eventually pays for their sins. The movie is a lesson in patience.  Each character in the movie seems to have waited a life-time to get where they are in this moment, so it only seems fair that the audience experiences that same gnawing anticipation.

As the journey reaches its climax, we are introduced to the eldest Pikler, Emil (Eli Wallach), and the final secrets spill out into Zak's open hands. Once Zak has this knowledge he is both freed from the weight of his father' hurtful behavior, and equally trapped by the legacy that his grandfather unveils. Though Delphina is the most likable character throughout the film, it is Zak who we are ultimately beholden to by the end of the film. As American Jews, Zak's journey is the one that we most deeply recognize. And like Zak we are both relieved and repulsed by the secrets that are finally revealed.

This haunting film, written and directed by Jeremy Davidson, was shot in a record 14 days, is acted beautifully by a committed cast recognizable from various Law and Order episodes. It feels more like a play than a movie. Tickling Leo, will not fill you with the same pride and triumph that Defiance so sweetly delivered, but it will show you another side to the story of Jewish survival. A side that is not nearly as grand, but just as important to remember.