By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent
Nowhere in Africa
Seattle premiere
Germany, 2002, 141 min.
German with subtitles
Caroline Link, Director
Based on the best-selling autobiographical novel by Stephanie Zweig, the Academy-Award winning Nowhere in Africa is narrated by Regina (Karoline Eckertz and Lea Kurka), a young girl whose German Jewish family escapes Hitler’s genocide by immigrating to Kenya shortly before World War II.
Abandoning Europe for a rugged life in Africa doesn’t come easy at first, especially for Regina’s mother, Jettel (Juliane Kohler). Accustomed to a life with fine china and fancy dresses, Jettel struggles with digging ditches and eating a diet of cornmeal and eggs.
Regina’s father Walter Redlich (Merab Ninidze), an accomplished lawyer in his homeland, tries his best to provide for his family while working on a farm. Jettel and Walter attempt to overcome their marital problems as Regina quickly adapts to her new surroundings — she befriends the local children as well as the wildlife.
When war breaks out in Europe, the family undergoes many changes and ultimately finds itself forced to choose between staying in Africa or returning to Europe. Nowhere in Africa’s breathtaking cinematography and beautiful score of African music, in addition to the fascinating story, make it a must-see.
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Secret Lives
Northwest Premiere
U.S.A., 2002, 72 min.
English
Aviva Slesin, Director
Jewish children and the non-Jews who saved them during World War II tell their heartfelt and heroic stories in Secret Lives, a documentary by Academy-Award winner Aviva Slesin.
Once in hiding from the Nazis, many of the children were cut off from the outside world. One man tells of how he was concealed in a closet until the end of the war. Some children posed as Christians to blend in with their non-Jewish families. Now, as adults, the children tell how their experiences changed their lives.
The stories are interspersed with black-and-white footage of the war. Some long-awaited reunions between the Jewish children and their rescuers are also included in this powerful documentary. One of these hidden children herself, director Slesin’s documentary, which took four years to complete, is powerful but sensitive. Although Slesin’s personal story is not in the movie, she says the movie speaks for her. It shows, as Slesin narrates, “in the midst of evil, humanity at its very best.”
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Motel the Operator
U.S.A., 1939, 88 min.
Yiddish with English subtitles
Joseph Seiden, Director
Chaim Tauber (author of the stage version) plays the leading role of Motel Friedman in this brand-new restoration of the 1939 Yiddish melodrama, Motel the Operator.
This touching story begins as Motel, a poor laborer, loving husband and new father, leads cloakmakers in a strike for better working conditions. Motel’s already-destitute family suffers greatly after Motel is severely injured by strikebreakers. His wife, Esther, in a desperate act to save their only child, gives their newborn son up for adoption to a wealthy couple.
Years pass and now Motel, an aging man without a family, happens upon a chance encounter with his adult son Jacob ‘Jack’ Rosenwald (Seymour Rechtzeit). Friends of the family, Chane Belle ‘Annabella’ Frumkin (Yetta Zwerling) and Jacob ‘Joseph’ Frumkin (Jacob Zanger) add some humor to this tragic story of a family torn apart by poverty. Motel the Operator stirs up many different emotions with its entertaining plot and heartfelt Yiddish songs.
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Shtick, Schmaltz, and Shtereotypes
U.S. Premiere
U.S.A., 2002, 120 min.
Murray Glass, curator
Shtick, Schmaltz, and Shtereotypes, curated by film historian Murray Glass, includes a collection of rarely seen comical shorts that highlight the talents of such personalities as Mel Brooks, Max Davidson, Eddie Cantor, Burns and Allen, and Jack Benny. The program also includes movies containing negative stereotypes of Jews.
At the screening, Glass gave background information about each movie, explaining why they were chosen for this collection. The collection was entertaining, especially with the Charlie Chaplin film about a pawnshop broker, but without the in-person introduction by Glass, the collection does not stand on its own.