Fiddler on the Roof

I love "Fiddler on the Roof" so much it's difficult for me to comment on it in a detached way. I just think about it and I'm filled with emotion. (And I'm not the sentimental type!) It honestly depicts what it means to be human. It contains love, faith, family, friendship, humour, violence, hate, prejudice, change, vulnerability, joy, community, anger...everything. This film is a tribute to the Jewish people, but you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy it. It's so rich that everyone can identify with it, and learn from it.

As for the music, all the songs fit in naturally and stand on their own as classics. "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "Sunrise, Sunset," "If I Were A Rich Man" - need I say more? When Hodel sings "Far From the Home I Love" it's tissue time. They're all so beautiful! If you usually find it hard to take when characters in musicals suddenly burst into song, don't worry, in this film it's so seamless you can't imagine them communicating any other way. The music makes it easier for them to say things they normally wouldn't in conversation.

The characters are so real and down-to-earth. They're strong, hard-working people, who have their priorities straight. I can't write about FOTR without mentioning Tevye - the centre of this whirling story, and a man who, like all of us, struggles with the pace with which his world is changing. He clings to the past, yet accepts what the future may bring. I don't think there is another film out there that addresses how insecure we feel with change. But hey, that's life. "To life, to life, la chayim!!"