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FREE FOR SENIORS
MATINEE
Wednesday, March
15, 2:00 PM
Northwest
Premiere
USA, 1993, 47
min.
English, with
some Yiddish
Jonathan
Berman, Director
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The
Schvitz
Here’s
the rub … shvitz is Yiddish
for sweating, a.k.a. bathhouses for ritual healing, massages and steamy
relaxation. This film shows
us how the sweats came into existence, why most shut down and captures the
fading subculture of the authentic Russian bathhouses – the last
remaining and still thriving on the Lower East Side. Like the cigar bars
of the ‘90s, the shvitz is a place where men congregate habitually.
We meet a group of hefty, mature devotees kibbitzing in the nude.
Ladies nights and co-ed hours, however, have kept the baths afloat.
Berman’s film is part nostalgia, part stand-up comedy with a little
nudity thrown in for fun. The
Greek chorus of seniors on the Coney Island boardwalk makes this movie a
priceless piece of Jewish history.
For
more information, visit www.shvitz.com
Shown
with Pastry, Pain and Politics and
The Personals
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