What do cantors mean in movies?

With this past weekend’s release of Nathan Silver’s new film, Between the Temples, I thought it was time to find out.

I polled my colleagues and compiled a list of all of the cantorial characters I could find. You can see it for yourself here (If I missed any, please drop me a note or let me know in the comments).

As for Between the Temples — the film follows a cantor, Ben Gottlieb, who finds himself listless and unable to sing after the tragic loss of his wife. He is gradually lifted up out of his depression by rekindling a friendship with his childhood music teacher, Carla O’Connor (née Kessler), who asks him to give her an adult bat mitzvah. The movie follows Ben’s reclaiming of himself and the meaning of his life through his relationship with Carla amidst the difficulty of grief and communal (and family) expectations.