Shem

Ostensibly the story of one hedonistic Londoner’s search for his Jewish identity, Caroline Roboh’s second feature is a pretentious travelogue/Skinemax flick with two positive attributes: stunning scenery and a gorgeous lead. After ditching his job and his lovers (a mother and her son), Daniel (Newman) visits his bubbe hoping for sympathy. She quickly convinces him to go traipsing through Europe looking for his great-grandfather’s grave. Daniel spends the next 90 minutes shtupping pretty strangers of all genders, engaging in pretentious conversations, pondering the Holocaust and running into the prophet Elijah (inexplicably played by Hungarian director Istvn Szab). Shem is a real shanda. (Opens Fri; Village East.)—Raven Snook