The Burial Society (R)

synopsis

A thriller set against the backdrop of the Orthodox Jewish chevrah kadisha about the world's most unlikely criminal as he infiltrates the mysterious world of the Jewish burial society. Sheldon Kasner arrives in town and offers his services to the local Chevrah Kadisha. The seemingly harmless businessman is just the new blood they need for their dying tradition. Pinning their hopes of survival on this unlikely stranger, the old men set about indoctrinating him into their dark and mysterious world, teaching him the extraordinary rituals of the Chevrah Kadisha - from the preparation and anointing of the corpses to the actual burial. Before long, a kinship begins to form between Shel and the old men. But, Shel has an agenda of his own. Having spent the better part of life as a loans manager, he has watched life pass him by. That is, until a mysterious event changes the course of his life and sets in motion a complex scheme involving the theft of $2 million.