Three new films and all about Lagerfeld

Stars of David

By Nate Bloom, Stars of David Contributing Columnist

Editor’s Note: Persons in bold are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of this column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in, or identify with, a faith other than Judaism. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish.

“Treasure”

“Treasure,” which opens in theaters on June 14, is described as a comedy. Here’s the capsule premise: Lena Dunham, 37, plays Ruth, an American journalist who travels to Poland with her father, Edek, to visit his childhood places. But Edek, a Holocaust survivor, resists reliving his trauma and sabotages the trip creating unintentionally funny situations.

British actor (and writer) Stephen Fry, 66, plays Edek. Fry’s father wasn’t Jewish, and he didn’t learn that his mother was Jewish until he was an adult. He isn’t religious but does identify as Jewish.

As I noted in my March column, “Treasure” played in a Berlin film festival, and reviews were not kind. So, I suggest you just wait for it to start streaming.

“Finding Your Roots” follow up

Also in my March column, I noted that Dunham, who created and starred in the HBO program “Girls,” would appear on “Finding Your Roots.” Well, the program covered her mother’s Jewish ancestry and her father’s “WASP” ancestors. Dunham also learned that her DNA showed that she was a distant cousin of Larry David, a prior “Roots” guest.

“Too Much”

In early April, it was announced that “Too Much,” a Netflix “rom-com” series, had begun filming. Dunham and her husband, musician Luis Felberg, 37, wrote the series. The Jewish cast members include Rhea Perlman, Michael Zegen ("Mrs Maisel") and Emily Ratajkowski (her mother is Jewish).

“Thelma”

“Thelma” opens in theaters on June 21. Here’s the plot: Thelma Post (June Squibb, 94!) gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson. She sets out on a dangerous quest to reclaim what was taken from her.

Advance reviews are quite good.

“Thelma” is the first feature film directed and written by Josh Margolis, 35. His film is based on a real scam played on Josh’s elderly, Jewish grandma.

Fred Hechinger, 25, co-stars as Thelma’s grandson, Danny. Hechinger gained attention in 2020-2021 when he had a big supporting role in “News of the World,” a hit Tom Hanks movie, and he had a big “main cast” role in the first season of “White Lotus,” a hit HBO series. He co-stars in the latest Spiderman movie, “Kraven the Hunter,” which opens in August. British Jewish actor Aaron Taylor Johnson, 33, plays the title role.

“Janet Planet”

“Janet Planet” is a drama that opens in theaters on June 21. Annie Baker, 43, an acclaimed playwright, is the director and writer of “Janet.” It is the first film that she wrote and directed.

In 2014, Baker won the Pulitzer Prize for her play, “Flick,” and in 2017 she was honored with a MacArthur Genius Award ($625,000 paid out over five years).

Baker’s mother is Jewish, and she identifies as Jewish. Her husband, Nico Baumbach, a Columbia University professor, is the brother of well-known director and writer Noah Baumbach, 54.

“Janet” is set in 1991. Janet (Julianne Nicholson) is described as an “acupuncturist hippie.” Janet and her “clingy” 11-year-old daughter, Lucy, spend a summer at a house in rural New England. Janet invites three people that Lucy doesn’t like to visit: her boyfriend (Will Patton) and her friends Avi (Elias Koteas) and Regina (Sophie Okonedo, 55).

Okenedo, an Oscar-nominated British actress, is the daughter of a Nigerian (Black) father and a British Jewish mother. She was raised by her mother and strongly identifies as Jewish.

“Lagerfeld”

“Lagerfeld,” an original, 6-episode Hulu series, begins streaming on June 7. The title refers to the series’ central character, Karl Lagerfeld (1935-2015), the famous fashion designer best known as the chief designer for Chanel from 1983 until his death.

Lagerfeld’s first big break came when he was hired (1966) to design for Chloe, a top French luxury fashion house that was founded (1952) by Gaby Aghion, a Sephardi Jew (1921-2014). She also co-owned Chloe. (Aghion is played by Agnes Jaoui, 59, a French Jewish actress).

Aghion was Chloe’s chief designer until she gave Lagerfeld his next big break. She made him Chloe’s top designer in 1974.

The early part of the series covers Karl's years at Chloe. Most of the series covers Lagerfeld being named the head designer of Chanel in 1983 (then not doing well) and turning Chanel into a “top house” again.

It's worth noting that Lagerfeld’s German father was a rich Nazi party member — and Karl made his stellar career working for Jews — Aghion and the Westheimer family, who have long owned both the fashion and perfume parts of the privately-owned Chanel company. Lagerfeld long put out fictional tales about his father’s “Swedish” background, but eventually the truth came out.