Shulamit Adar Movies
Three older Jewish women deal with issues in their families and the long shadow of the Holocaust in this episodic drama. In the film's first segment, Rivka (Shulamit Adar) is on a bus tour of Poland with her husband and is accidentally left behind after a stop at a cemetery. She is furious with her husband, who didn't notice that she was missing; she's felt neglected by him for years, but she doesn't have the strength to leave him. The second story moves to Paris, where Regine (Liliane Rovere) receives startling news: her father, who supposedly died in a concentration camp during World War II, is actually alive in Lithuania. When she arrives in Lithuania, she's startled by the sight of her father, a very old man who doesn't quite recognize her, as well as his story: after the liberation of his camp, he made his way on foot and ended up behind the Iron Curtain, from where he was unable to return to Europe. In the final story, Vera (Esther Gorintin) and her neighbors travels from Moscow to Tel Aviv, hoping to visit a cousin who is now in a rest home. She eventually gets lost and is befriended by Rivka, from the first episode. Voyages is the directorial debut for Emmanuel Finkiel, who previously worked as an assistant director for Krzysztof Kieslowski and made a short film that won a César award in France. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shulamit Adar, Liliane Rovere, (more)
- 1997
Winner of the 1997 French Cesar award for "Best Short Film," this evocative moment between an Ashkenazi Jew and a woman from Israel -- both in their later years -- is portrayed with delicacy, sensitivity, and an understanding of a culture that is disappearing. The Ashkenazi Jews who have retired to the region fill their days with memories of bygone times, with walks, with card games, with stories, and all along know that their Yiddish-speaking culture is declining. While the Jewish tailor and the Israeli woman slowly evolve a charming and touching attraction to each other, his pretending to read the French newspaper is a poignant demonstration of the difference between his past and his present. A related theme is explored in a 1984 British documentary, Almonds and Raisins, which takes a close look at the vanishing Yiddish language and culture in relation to the 300 or so Yiddish movies made in the era of early talkies. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Cogan, Shulamit Adar, (more)
- 1990
It is surprising to learn that Yiddish live theater still exists even in Israel. In the story, the formerly lively theatrical form is barely sustained by a few aging aficionados of the form, along with the support of its loyal but chronologically challenged (aging) audiences. The big star of one of these troupes is a woman named Laura Adler (Rita Zohar) (the Adler name is doubt an hommage to the great Yiddish theatrical family). She is attractive and middle-aged, and is quite content to spend her days performing in this obscure theatrical backwater. One day, however, she learns that she is being considered for a part in a major U.S. film, and, while she is absorbing that news, she has a brief affair with a young man. Later, when she learns that she has terminal cancer, she decides to spend her remaining days onstage with her theatrical friends and family. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rita Zohar, Shulamit Adar, (more)
