Cast:
Steven Keats (Jake), Carol Kane (Gitl), Mel Howard (Bernstein), Dorrie Kavanaugh (Mamie), Doris Roberts (Mrs. Kavarsky), and Lauren Friedman (Fanny) Written and Directed by Joan Micklin Silver.
Review:
"I came of age for film, at a time when the sexism was pretty strong. And although I could get work as a Writer, I couldn’t get work as a Director at all. And I had the experience of watching young men who had made shorts as I had, prize winning shorts, as I had, moving on to directing films and I couldn’t do it. And, and my husband, Ray, was… became angry, and he said, “You know, maybe you can do it, maybe you can’t, but everybody should have a chance to try for the brass ring.”
Joan Micklin Silver was born in Omaha, Nebraska in in 1935 to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. In that sense, it only seems fitting that her first film would be one like this. She had graduated from Sarah Lawrence College before moving to Cleveland with her husband to teach music and write for the next eleven years. She continued her writing when she moved to New York City in 1967, where she would write for The Village Voice. She soon wrote scripts for educational films and found her way into directing within that area, which resulted in three works, most notably with "The Immigrant Experience", a short about Polish immigrants. Silver would end up directing for until 2003 with a handful of theatrical features (seven) and television work, with this and Crossing Delancey (1988) being her highlights (with each touching upon Jewish identity). The movie is an adaptation of the 1896 novella Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto by Abraham Cahan; he was born in Lithuania before immigrating to New York City at the age of 21 that was part of the exodus of Jewish peoples from Eastern and Southern Europe to the States (roughly 2.8 million), and he is mostly known for his work within Yiddish language newspapers. A 19th century tale about Jewish people trying to assimilate in a newly adopted country for the 20th century surely would attract studio attention...it did not. A first-time director, particularly a woman, was felt to be "another problem" that studios did not want to fund; making independent movies had changed from decade to decade, but that didn't mean things would be easy, especially with a film with a handful of dialogue communicated in Yiddish with substitute. The film was funded by Raphael Silver, a real estate developer who saw his wife's trouble with getting a studio to produce the film and decided to pull roughly over $300,000 together to do it, complete with filming in New York (Hester Street, while located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, was not used for filming). Distribution struggles ended with a run on the festival circuit that turned into a fair audience hit.
I'm sure you are familiar with films made as a passion project. Of course, certain movies made in the memory of others didn't have to deal with funding difficulties or being thought of as too "ethnic". For what Silver wanted to achieve in making a tale involving the clash of traditionalism versus assimilation, I would say that the movie is a fair success, one that doesn't serving as a judging ground for what kind of life seems best. With its black-and-white photography, one gets the feeling of watching an old photograph that seems aptly appropriate for the film, which utilizes limited settings to show the assimilation from each angle to useful effect, which naturally ends with one famed custom in the religion: A get (divorce), which is done tastefully. This would end up one of Kane's first shining roles, and it earned her an Academy Award nomination (losing to Louise Fletcher is not a shame). At any point, when she does finally arrive on screen, she makes the most of it with earthy patience. It doesn't require great monologues to see a performance built on observation and immense struggle for charm. Keats proves suitable as the other side of assimilation, in the classic hustling sense. There is a man in there, it just happens to have a bit of ooze for a few amusing moments when it comes to seeing just what one would do to be thought of as something else besides what they are, whether that involves cheating on women or trying to change a name. Howard patiently makes his mark in dutiful patience, while Kavanaugh pairs well with Keats. Roberts proves sound with careful charm that serves as a helping hand to Kane. The movie does fair in showing a way of life in its drama without hesitation or melodrama that makes a useful 90-minute curiosity. For the independent circuit, this is a movie that I would recommend for what Silver managed to do with a tale that will prove rewarding in interest for its audience without compromises.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980).
