Watch Nobody's Business

Nobody's Business is a documentary film directed and produced by Alan Berliner, released in 1996. The movie is centered around the filmmaker's relationship with his father, Oscar Berliner, and his attempt to uncover the fragments of his family's past. The movie begins with Alan Berliner expressing his childhood memories of his father, an elusive, yet charismatic figure in his life, whom he often saw as a riddle. The Berliner family's history is rooted in Eastern Europe, and almost all of their relatives were killed in the Holocaust. However, Oscar Berliner, the family's patriarch, refused to talk about the past, always insisting on focusing on their present and future.

The movie follows Alan Berliner's journey to uncover his family's history, and his interactions with his father, who he claims is a difficult, stubborn, and sometimes frustrating person to communicate with. The documentary adeptly blends interviews with family members, old photographs, archival footage, and present-day scenes of father-son interactions. By doing so, the documentary offers the viewer multi-dimensional insights into the family's history, and the psyche of both the father and the son.

The director's portrayal of his father is honest and often unflattering, with moments of humour, warmth and poignancy intermingled with the tension and animosity that come with probing someone's memories. Oscar Berliner, who is now in his 80's, is a retired businessman who has lived in New York City for most of his life. He is often seen in the movie doing mundane activities like shaving, eating and watching sports on TV, but he is also shown engaging with his son in heated discussions about the past.

Alan Berliner's search for answers to his family's past takes him to old family homes, former concentration camps, and various cities around Europe, all the while accompanied by his father, albeit reluctantly. The father-son conversations are a significant part of the film, and they reveal the recurring pattern of conflict and reconciliation between generations that resonates with many families. The son wants to know the painful secrets of the past, while the father wants to shield his offspring from the knowledge and pain he experienced.

The film's title Nobody's Business can be interpreted in several ways. At one level, it refers to Oscar Berliner's insistence on keeping family secrets private. At another level, it refers to the intrusive nature of the filmmaker's quest. Berliner often shoots his father without his knowledge, capturing some awkward and spontaneous moments that further reveal his father's personality.

The movie's strength lies in its ability to capture the viewer's attention and hold it for the duration of the film. Although the documentary is mainly about one family's history, it provides insights into universal themes of family dynamics and intergenerational relationships. It is apparent that Alan Berliner has crafted this movie with a lot of care, attention to detail, and sensitivity towards his father's reluctance to share his family's secrets.

In conclusion, Nobody's Business is an honest, heartfelt, and engaging movie that provides a compelling insight into a family's past and the complexities of the father-son relationship. The documentary is an excellent example of how the past can continue to shape the present and influence future generations. Overall, it is a poignant reminder of the importance of knowing one's history and the difficulties that can arise when trying to reconstruct and share it with others.

Nobody's Business is a 1996 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 8.0.