The Quarrel

The Quarrel is a 1991 Canadian film directed by Eli Cohen, Saul Rubinek and R. H. Thomson. The film was written by David Brandes and Joseph Telushkin.

A chance encounter on the Jewish New Year offers Chaim and Hersh a final opportunity to face the past, clarify their conduct, and attempt to understand the vastly dissimilar lives theyve led. On the forenoon of Rosh Hashana, Chaim gets bacon and eggs for his first meal of the day and receives a telephone call from the lady he casually slept with the previous night, whereas Hersh is down by the lakefront guiding his yeshiva scholars in prayer. Their way of life and beliefs could not differ any further, however boyhood friendships many times will develop beyond rationality. While the two gentlemen reveal their Holocaust incidents and describe how the lives they lead have strengthened their viewpoints, the quarrel that develops turns into a battle to determine whether they are best friends or angry foes. But rather than boiling things down to a straightforward rightorwrong reality, The Quarrel fleshes out their opposing perspectives and then lets them stew unsettled, acknowledging lifes complexities.For the two Holocaust survivors, discussing God awakens intense sentiments. To the rabbi, Hersh, the Holocaust demonstrated that assimilation is not possible and inappropriate, and he has since devoted his days to his yeshiva and to strengthening the Jewish faith amongst Gods chosen people. Conversely, Chaim cannot resolve the promise that Jews are Gods chosen people with the atrocious murder of six million innocents. He thinks that if God exists, He broke his covenant with the Jewish people at Auschwitz concentration camp. ........

Source: Wikipedia