The documentary about a teen with Down syndrome preparing for his bar mitzvah made the film festival circuit in 2008. The DVD of "Praying with Lior" is available March 24.Here's a short review from the Hartford Courant:
Ilana Trachtman's documentary is best when it doesn't glorify its subject too much. Lior Liebling is a boy with Down syndrome. Like all Down syndrome children, Lior has an activity he likes to repeat over and over. His is praying. Lior is sweet and his story is interesting, but many people around him overstate Lior's wisdom, calling him a "spiritual genius." It's almost condescending how they assign an extraordinary characteristic to a handicapped boy, as if Lior needs to be psychologically compensated. He doesn't really. He's a perfectly happy kid. The wisest man in the movie is Lior's father Mordechai, a rabbi, who discourages such "genius" talk. He says his son is just a boy with lots of love to give. The bar mitzvah scene will choke you up. Unrated, with nothing to offend.
