Va, vis et deviens (2005)

Director:

Radu Mihaileanu

Writers:

Alain-Michel Blanc (writer)
Radu Mihaileanu (writer)

Release Date:

1 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In 1980 the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews. In turn they are secretly carried to Israel...

Plot Keywords:

Jew | Love | Ethiopia | France | Fugitive

Awards:

9 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Yaël Abecassis	...	Yael
Roschdy Zem	...	Yoram
Moshe Agazai	...	Schlomo enfant
Moshe Abebe	...	Schlomo adolescent
Sirak M. Sabahat	...	Schlomo adulte
Yitzhak Edgar	...	Le Qès Amara
Roni Hadar	...	Sara
Rami Danon	...	Papy
Mimi Abonesh Kebede	...	Hana - la mère Juive Ethiopienne
Meskie Shibru Sivan	...	La mère de Schlomo
Raymonde Abecassis	...	Suzy
Yosi Alfi	...	Rabbin Talmud Tora (as Yossi Alfi)
Shmil Ben Ari	...	Directeur internat (as Shmil Ben-Ari)
Shlomo Vishinsky	...	Le policier
Shai Fredo	...	Le traducteur

Also Known As:

Live and Become (Australia) (Canada: English title) (Ireland: English title) (UK) (USA)
Go, See, and Become (International: English title)
Live & Become (Canada: English title) (poster title)
Vai e vivrai (Italy) (dubbed version)

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

France | Belgium | Israel | Italy

Language:

Amharic | Hebrew | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Ireland:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:10 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | USA:Unrated | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | France:U

Filming Locations:

Alon Junior High Scool, Givatayin, Israel

Company:

Elzévir Films

Trivia:

Visa d'exploitation en France # 106667

Quotes:

Narrateur: They had been forgotten on their mountaintops, near Gondar. Yet, since the dawn of time, the Ethiopian Jews, known as the "Falashas", dreamed of returning to their homeland, the Holy Land, Jerusalem. With Israeli and U.S. Aid, a vast program was undertaken from November to January 1985 to transport the Ethiopian Jews to Israel...

Simply life-affirming

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.