Live and Become
(2005)
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Live and Become
(2005)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Yaël Abecassis | ... |
Yael
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| Roschdy Zem | ... |
Yoram
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Moshe Agazai | ... |
Schlomo enfant
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Moshe Abebe | ... |
Schlomo adolescent
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Sirak M. Sabahat | ... |
Schlomo adulte
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Yitzhak Edgar | ... |
Le Qès Amara
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Roni Hadar | ... |
Sara
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Rami Danon | ... |
Papy
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Mimi Abonesh Kebede | ... |
Hana - la mère Juive Ethiopienne
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Meskie Shibru Sivan | ... |
La mère de Schlomo
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Raymonde Abecassis | ... |
Suzy
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Yosi Alfi | ... |
Rabbin Talmud Tora
(as Yossi Alfi)
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Shmil Ben Ari | ... |
Directeur internat
(as Shmil Ben-Ari)
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Shlomo Vishinsky | ... |
Le policier
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Shai Fredo | ... |
Le traducteur
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In 1980 the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews. In turn they are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy. Upon arrival this second mother dies. Schlomo is adopted by a good family but remains depressed until he secretly sends a letter to his real mother. From the beginning he experiences large and small racist difficulties. In his teens he and Sarah fall in love. Her father is an extreme racist. Schlomo tries to gain "real Jewishness" by winning a competition in Bible interpretation. No change of Sarah's father's attitude. Disappointed he goes to the police and reports himself as not being a Jew. But the police officer just gives him a scolding. "The newspapers are full of that stuff, the Falashas are no Jews. Now they begin to believe it themselves." His adoptive parents send him to France to study medicine. When he afterwards marries ... Written by Max Scharnberg, Stockholm, Sweden
Just returned from the first screening of this movie. An amazing start to the Berlinale Film Festival. It was long (2 and 1/2 hours), absorbing, well-scripted/acted, and very moving. The director and the lead actor were there afterwards and we applauded them heartily. This is what a film festival is about.
The basic plot follows the life of a young Ethiopian boy, Shlomo, whose mother realizes that he can be saved if he poses as one of the Falashas, the Ethiopian Jews. They were clandestinely airlifted to Israel from Sudan in the mid 1980s. This is a story of migration,assimilation and identity through the eyes of an individual. It shows how Israel deals with these 'different' Jews, how he deals with not really being one of them, how he is adopted by an idealistic left-wing family, falls in love with a young Israeli girl whose father is a racist, and his ongoing inner-dialogue with his mother still somewhere in a Sudanese refugee camp. Very multi-layered, critical without being moralistic and preachy. Unlike Mr. Mihaileanu's other big movie "The Train of Life" this is not a comedy, but it contains plenty of warmth and humor, and also stars a Shlomo.