Michael Davidow

The Hunter of Talyashevka Michael Davidow

In 1926, an American journalist travels to Kiev to scout locations for a film. He connects with old friends while there, one of whom is an art dealer's sister. Her brother has recently discovered a strange painting. It's a pure black square, the symbol of modernity, but painted before the advent of any similar work. He has therefore gone to find its creator in the nearby town of Talyashevka. The American decides to follow this trail. But the Soviet secret police have other plans for them all. * * * From Kiev to Talyashevka, from Talyashevka to the woods; from city hotels to rural taverns to the floors of ancient barns; with ballet dancers, bob-cut flappers, sugar merchants, and rabbinical students along for the ride; with manor houses and abandoned synagogues and scenes of Shakespeare in the open air: THE HUNTING PARTY is a thoughtful journey through the mythology and the beauty of the Jewish past. And the religious themes central to its story cut to the core of our lives, even today.