Solomon & Gaenor (1999)

A tragic love story between a Jewish young man and a Welsh woman in the beginning of the century. The movie is mostly in English with parts in Welsh and Yiddish

Director:

Paul Morrison

Writer:

Paul Morrison

Stars:

Ioan Gruffudd, Nia Roberts, Sue Jones-Davies

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ioan Gruffudd	...	Solomon Levinsky
Nia Roberts	...	Gaenor Rees
Sue Jones-Davies	...	Gwen (as Sue Jones Davies)
William Thomas	...	Idris Rees
Mark Lewis Jones	...	Crad Rees
Maureen Lipman	...	Rezl
David Horovitch	...	Isaac
Bethan Ellis Owen	...	Bronwen
Adam Jenkins	...	Thomas
Cyril Shaps	...	Ephraim
Daniel Kaye	...	Philip
Elliott Cantor	...	Benjamin (as Elliot Cantor)
Steffan Rhodri	...	Noah Jones
Emyr Wyn	...	Reverend Roberts
Julian Lewis Jones	...	Wyn

Storyline

A young Jew in 1911 Wales tries to make his living by selling fabrics door to door, but to do so he must hide his nationality. On one of his sales he meets and falls in love with a demure young woman with a strong-willed father and a Jew-hating brother. The two fall in love and she becomes pregnant, but only then does she learn of his ethnic background. When anti-Jewish riots break out, the two are forced to flee and become separated.

---

Plot Keywords:

welsh | riot | jewish | jew | wales | 

---

Taglines:

Their tragedy was to fall in love.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and a scene of violence

Details

Official Sites:

S4C Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

UK

Language:

English Welsh Yiddish

Release Date:

30 April 1999 (UK)

Also Known As:

Solomon & Gaenor

Filming Locations:

Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,274, 27 August 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$301,754, 17 December 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

APT Films,APT Productions,Arts Council of England

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Daniel Levy (who plays Rabbi Wolfe) is an Orthodox Rabbi, and at the time was the Rabbi of the Orthodox Synagogue in Cardiff.

---

Quotes

[repeated line]
Solomon Levinsky: [to Crad] Where is Gaenor?

User Reviews

It's a fantastic film; powerful, beautiful and poignant.

The first time I saw it was in my home county of Dorset, in the gaslit, old world atmosphere of the Rex Cinema at Wareham (a must for all visitors to Dorset!)

The movie was so completely absorbing that I slowly became aware of my surroundings when it finished, looking around and wondering where in the world I could be! Of course, I naturally thought I was in Wales, and it took a few minutes of mental effort to think of ...Dorset, and the Rex ...and Wareham - oh yes, I remember those places ... that's where I come from, isn't it.

The shame is that it has never had general release in its home country, and is not available in PAL 2 DVD.

It's a fantastic film; beautiful and poignant. The acting is great, especially Gaenor, who has the perhaps the most powerful role.