A French Shtetl

Satire, Memory, and Confronting Antisemitism in the Films Train of Life and The Jews

Abstract

The article examines the use of satirical humor as a critical tool for confronting anti-Jewish stereotypes in both past and present contexts, through a comparative analysis of two French films created by Jewish filmmakers: Train de Vie (1998), directed by Radu Mihăileanu, and Ils sont partout (2016), directed by Yvan Attal. Through figures such as the ״village fool ״ and deliberately exaggerated sketches, these films offer a parody of historical and contemporary antisemitic images, ranging from myths of Jewish wealth and notions of Jewish world domination to claims of a Jewish monopoly over Holocaust memory. The article argues that satire does not simply negate the stereotypical image, but rather dismantles it from within by foregrounding its inherent absurdity. In doing so, it points toward a renewed understanding of Jewish identity, collective memory, and the deployment of subversive humor as a means of processing trauma.