The man who survived a century in a vat of pickles
In short: Imagine being preserved in brine for 100 years, only to wake up in a world that has moved on without you. This is the premise of An American Pickle, where an immigrant's struggle for survival transforms into a surreal comedy about identity, legacy, and the price of staying relevant.
Based on Simon Rich's 2013 short story "Sell Out," the film follows Herschel Greenbaum, who emigrated from an Eastern European shtetl to America in 1919. While working at a pickle factory, he fell into a vat and remained brined for exactly one century. During 2019, while in Brooklyn, he learns that Ben, a freelance app developer who doubts Herschel's old-fashioned principles, remains his sole surviving kin.
The narrative explores the friction between old-world heritage and modern digital culture. While Ben focuses on "Boop Bop," an ethics-checking app, Herschel builds a successful pickle business using discarded produce. Their relationship fractures over jealousy and sabotage, leading to a dramatic climax where Herschel assumes Ben's identity to escape deportation. The story eventually shifts toward reconciliation when Herschel discovers that the app Ben championed was actually a way to memorialize his late parents.
Produced by Point Grey Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros., the film premiered as an HBO Max original in August 2020. While critics were divided—with some calling it "pungent but flavorless" and others praising Seth Rogen's dual performance—the project highlights a unique cinematic experiment: exploring how a literal relic of the past navigates the complexities of social media, free speech, and family legacy in the 21st century.
The production involved meticulous attention to detail; for instance, Seth Rogen spent an entire month filming his scenes as Herschel before switching to Ben to ensure the facial hair appeared authentic. The film's score, composed by Nami Melumad and Michael Giacchino, includes a suite titled "Pickles, Suite or Sour," anchoring its whimsical premise in a structured musical landscape.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: An American Pickle
- Also: Wikidata — An American Pickle · CC0
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