Yaniv Rokah
“He who saves one life saves the entire world.”
– Sanhedrin 4:5, as quoted at the very end of the credits of QUEEN MIMI
Before I left Los Angeles, I got into a fight during brunch in a vegan restaurant. It may have been more of a differing of opinions, an argument, or perhaps just a classical Talmudic discussion. It was concerning the meaning a text in Tractate Sanhedrin, in which is written “he who saves one life saves the entire world.”
Earlier that month, I had attended the sold-out Los Angeles premiere of the documentary QUEEN MIMI at the Arclight on the final night of Hanukkah. It is the story of a homeless octogenarian who lived in a Santa Monica laundromat for two decades, becoming a fixture of the neighborhood.
But no one really knew anything about her past.
The movie was filmed and directed by Yaniv Rokah, over a five year period, when he was an aspiring actor working as a barista in Santa Monica. (We had randomly met a few months prior to the premiere at a tea shop in Beverly Hills, when we realized that both our families shared roots in 19th century Jerusalem.)
Queen Mimi’s story is anything but simple, is not sugar-coated in the slightest, and the mere production of the documentary proves to be a transformative experience for her. A surprise Hollywood ending occurs even though the movie was filmed all the way west in Santa Monica.
In Los Angeles, especially at premieres, it seems that everyone watches the credits, but only to see the names of their friends. After the film ended and the prerequisite Q&A with the eponymous star, the director, the editor and the producer concluded, I walked down from my seat into the throng of adoring friends and fans vying for a moment of congratulations. As I gave the director a hug, I whispered in his ear, “nice quote from Sanhedrin at the very end of the credits to bring it all together.” He laughed.
During our brunch later that month, he noted that no one else really paid any attention to the quotation. We began to discuss to whom in the movie that line refers.
Was it the laundromat owner who allowed Queen Mimi to sleep in the laundromat? Was it the people in the neighborhood who befriended Mimi and treated her as a friend, going drinking and dancing with her, and even going as so far to give her a bed to sleep in at times? Was it the people who worked at the laundromat or the customers who gave their laundry to Mimi to do, to give her a sense of purpose? Was it Zach Galifianakis who became her (second?) biggest champion, who saw Queen Mimi as more than a piece of arm candy to bring to the red carpet premieres of his movies? Was it Yaniv, who looked at a random homeless octogenarian, and realized there must be more of a story? Or was it Queen Mimi herself who transformed lives with her smile and her good nature? Is it an exhortation to the viewing audience to give a damn about the homeless?
What is meant by “saving” a life? How exactly does that “save” the entire world?
QUEEN MIMI is currently in a limited cinematic release, and has been garnering exposure with articles in People, Glamour, UPROXX, L.A. Weekly, the Huffington Post, the Hollywood Reporter, LA Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times, among many others.
The film has won awards at film festivals from Manhattan to St. Tropez, and nominated at festivals from San Francisco to Haifa, garnering 5 wins and 4 nominations.
Most of these I know because Yaniv had been sharing them.
And then I got a sponsored advertisement for the Los Angeles Times piece in my newsfeed, and noticed the 162 shares and more than 825 likes. And the comments were incredible.
“I remember Mimi well from the laundromat. I never really knew her story, but I’m glad that she’s not homeless anymore.”
“This used to be my laundromat and I used to look forward to my little chats with Mimi. Glad to see she is doing so well!!”
“I see her every time I do laundry. She explains all the washers and the time it takes to get it done and she doesn’t work there.”
“I see her all the time! I have always wondered about her, what a great story!”
“I knew MiMi personally and she helped me every week when I’d do laundry in Santa Monica. We would chat about anything and she’d sing and do what little shuffle dances she could with her tired feet. She was so sweet and helpful and a staple and constant in my L.A. laundry life.”
Perhaps, we can redefine the traditional understanding of the Talmudic passage. I think that the translation of “saves one life” is not the only possible meaning. The word used is not “מציל” (mtzil), the traditional way of writing “to save”, it is written as “מקיים” (mkyiim), from the root of “rising up”, “attesting” or “establishing”.
It’s not about life and death, it’s about the reputation of the living.
An alternate reading of the passage is therefore, “When you attest to the existence of a single person (besides yourself), you can change the world.” Only when you care about the homeless octogenarian in the hot pink pants, can you actually make the world a better place.
What is a documentary, anyway, besides a testament to the subject’s worth?