Re/Pair (Lacey Schwartz Delgado, 2026) 4 out of 5 stars
I was unaware of a serious rift between Black and Jewish Americans until reading the description for the new documentary Re/Pair, but based on the conversations showcased within, it’s clear that what the two groups have in common should far outweigh their differences. Both have suffered intense discrimination—and, as actors David Schwimmer and Harry Lennix point out, we shouldn’t do an “oppression Olympics” to compare who has endured worse agonies—and both share a strong history of working together. In this day and age, we would all do better to focus on that which unites us rather than divides us.
Given that director Lacey Schwartz Delgado is both Black and Jewish, she would appear the perfect candidate to tell the story, and she does not disappoint. Beyond the urgent and poignant content of the movie, however, what perhaps most impresses is her ability to make what is essentially a series of two-person interviews tremendously cinematic. Working closely with cinematographer Adam Uhl, Schwartz Delgado sets up nicely lit shots that showcase the natural charisma of so many of her subjects and then just lets them talk. It’s a winning strategy, nicely complemented with relevant B-roll when appropriate.
Her approach is deceptively simple: put two people in the frame, one Black and one Jewish, who have known each other for some time, and have them address the topic of Black-Jewish interactions. She then cuts between those conversations, allowing them to start with one pair, continue in another, and finish on yet one more. Everyone is polite to a fault; it might have been interesting to see occasional flashes of temper, yet that minor quibble aside, the net result is fully engaging.
Among those appearing onscreen together are the following: songwriter Che “Rhymefest” Smith and musician Matisyahu; the aforementioned Lennix and Schwimmer (who met as students at Northwestern); radio personalities Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg; spiritual leaders Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews and Rabbi Sharon Brous; comedian W. Kamau Bell and writer Adam Mansbach; photographers Eli Reed and Mathieu Bitton; journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon and political commentator Van Jones; and NPR’s Code Switch editor Leah Donnella and TV writer/producer Ashley Jackson (daughter of the late Jesse), both of whom are Black and Jewish, as well. That last one might surprise you (her father being a Baptist minister and all), and her conversion story very much factors into the narrative. In addition to tackling serious issues of our day, many of the discussions are also very funny.
Which is good, because the topics covered can be thorny. They include racial and religious tensions in areas where Blacks and Jews live side by side, Israel and the Palestinians, and how the Nation of Islam (often an important source of needed material support in Black communities) has traditionally maligned Jews as a monolithic group (we have Louis Farrakhan to thank for that). It gives one hope to see each party able to listen to the other with reasoned calm (my earlier call for flashes of temper notwithstanding). More of this, please. As Rabbi Brous so eloquently puts it, it’s important to look at who is sowing divisions and who benefits from the fracturing of progressive alliances. Hint: it’s not the good guys.
I am not always a fan of “can’t we all just get along” treatises, especially when there are substantive grounds for disagreement, but Re/Pair impressed me with its vision of community and friendship. It’s not only a great-looking picture, but a profoundly compassionate one, filled with what we need most in the world today: empathy. I emerged refreshed and inspired, and you will, too.
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Chris Reed is the editor of Film Festival Today. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.