ITZHAK

ITZHAK

ITZHAK REVIEWED

“Itzhak” is a rather fast-paced documentary about legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman. Director Alison Chernick follows Itzhak over a few months, as she tries to get a sense of a master nearing the end of his life. From being discovered by Ed Sullivan after arriving from Israel, Itzhak has had a crazy life. The guy works with Billy Joel, Steven Spielberg and even lands a Kennedy Center Honor. There’s the life-long legacy of classical music genius, but I feel that’s missing the obvious highlight. That highlight being his dinner hang-out with Alan Alda. Just kidding. It’s Perlman’s quiet rage at the indignities still remaining in his life. The guy is world famous, meets Presidents and has hung with the greatest in pop culture. But, he has to wait for the NYPD to clear a homeless addict out of the ground floor handicapped bathroom, so that he can urinate. No matter what happens for Perlman in this documentary, his entire life keeps getting hung up on small moments. Yet, the violin virtuoso moves past these moments with dignity. Whether he’s arguing with TSA, waiting on homeless to quit sleeping in his bathroom or just trying to make kids care about classical music…Perlman takes that fight head on. The guy is an inspiration. Check out the documentary.