The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick

Set in the early 1960s, a Jewish boy named Max Glick (Noam Zylberman) from a small Manitoba community confronts his Bar Mitzvah and coming-of-age amid his family's condescension and bigotry, using sharp, self-deprecating Jewish humor. When the town rabbi dies, a parallel plot follows Max’s father (Aaron Schwartz) and grandfather (Jan Rubes), both synagogue leaders, as they contend with a traditional Hassidic rabbi who stands out in an otherwise assimilated Jewish community. To complicate matters, Max falls for a Catholic girl (14-year-old Fairuza Baulk in her third film), whom he later challenges in a piano competition. The quirky, affable rabbi offers guidance while secretly nursing his own ambitious dream. Filmed on location in Winnipeg and the rural Beausejour area of Manitoba, Canada.