Russia,
1991, 90 min
Shown in 1992
CREDITS
- dir
-
Dmitry Astrakhan
- scr
-
O. Danilov, Dmitry Astrakhan
- cam
-
Yuri Vorontsov
- cast
-
Otar Mengvinetukutsesy
- source
-
Lenfilm Studios
-
COMMENTS
Dmitry Astrakhan in person.
OTHER
Centered on the plight of a Jewish family in turn-of-the-century Ukraine, this impressive debut film presents a complex view of the transformation a quiet, rural community undergoes with the introduction and rise of anti-Semitism. Mod Rabinowitz, a good-natured, hard-working man, runs a small family business in the village. This harmonious landscape is shattered by the first instance of racial registration. A Gypsy is beaten for stealing a horse, which puts the ever-present—although subdued—reality of racism into perspective. With the film’s emphasis on Motl’s changing world, the loosely linked, often humorous vignettes are tinged with a growing sense of fear, which lurks unspoken but ever-present in all daily activities. Motl’s old Christian friend Zwan, the village elder, does everything to support him against the invading hostility; an ambivalent chief of police vacillates between duty and ethics; a village drunk waves between the reward of drinking or waving a flag; and in the midst of everything, Motl’s daughter renounces her religion to marry Zwan’s son. In this small village a drama is played against a background of foreboding historical references, culminating in a heroic act of resistance.
—Dimitri Eipides, Festival of Festivals
FACTOID #130
Spike Lee has attended the San Francisco International several times. He came, film reels in hand, for the world premiere of She’s Gotta Have It in 1986. He returned in 1994 with Crooklyn, which starred Oakland’s own Delroy Lindo. And in 2007 he received the Festival’s Film Society Directing Award.
