‘October 8’ Review: Emotive Doc Explores The Disturbing Rise Of Antisemitism In America

deadline.com:

The height of a documentary’s importance is usually judged by the magnitude of the stars willing to get involved. In the case of Wendy Sachs’ October 8, it’s telling that the only Hollywood faces to appear onscreen are Will & Grace’s Debra Messing and cult character actor Michael Rapaport. “I know where I am in the pecking order,” says the latter. “There are so many other bigger names, the fact that I was the big Hollywood name [to speak out] — aside from the great Debra Messing — is some real f*ckin disappointing f*ckin’ shit.” Rapaport’s candid outburst speaks to the documentary’s central thesis, which is that the attack on Israel by terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, has led to a rise in antisemitism in America — much of it under the guise of anti-Zionism — of a kind not seen since the Second World War.

The film’s title refers to the immediate aftermath of that day, as the east and west coast began processing the news, but, really, October 8 is about what one of its talking heads calls “the unfathomable chain reaction” that it sparked, much of it in the student world.

There is, of course, a broader political context to this scenario, which is still playing out in the Middle East, but October 8 sets that to one side (neither Trump nor Netanyahu are players here, and the concept of a two-state solution is only mentioned in passing, albeit in a positive way).

Instead, the film functions as a kind angry rebuttal to the media’s coverage of Israel — and by extension Jewish people — and an even angrier comment on its silence.