In the 1950's Norway recieved a small quota of displaced persons, Jews who were homeless after World War II. MENDEL is the funny, warm and bittersweet story of how a nine year-old Jewish boy from Germany (Mendel) comes to grips with his new environment, a remote Norwegian town. Sensitively directed, this coming-of-age story follows Mendel as he strives to understand who he is and what his religious background means. His parents refuse to talk about the past with him yet secretly discuss it amongst themselves. By focusing on the young Mendel, director Rosler is able to portray the effects of the Holocaust on children of the survivors - the psychological scars they bear while struggling to grow up and come to terms with the past of their people.

"Grippingly real... full of strong emotions." - Variety

"This rich Norwegian film is a near-perfect mixture of comedy and drama, as young Mendel comes to understand (if not accept) the curious ways of his new Norwegian neighbors -- a land of cod liver oil, fish balls and evangelizing Christians -- even as he
seeks to discover his own Jewish identity." -John Petrakis, Chicago Tribune

"Warm & Richly Comic! A Norwegian Huck Finn story...as unlikely as it is winning!" -Time Out New York