Michael Kehlmann’s legendary film adaptation of Joseph Roth’s novel HIOB: In the ghetto of Zuchnow, in the Russian part of Galicia, the devout Jew Mendel Singer lives with his wife Deborah and their children Miriam, Shemarjah, and Jonas. Mendel teaches the boys of the Jewish community the knowledge of the Bible. Then a fourth child is born to him, Menuchim, a sickly and frail being. The two older sons are conscripted into the military. While Jonas does not mind serving in the Russian army, Shemarjah flees across the border to Austria, exhausting the family’s entire savings. Eventually, Shemarjah manages to escape to America. Once he has established himself and saved some money, he informs his parents that he wants to bring them and his siblings to America. But Jonas wants to remain in the military, and Menuchim is not allowed to come, as the sick are forbidden from entering the United States. With a heavy heart, Mendel Singer leaves Menuchim behind and travels with the rest of the family to the New World.