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.

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Plot Keywords:

welsh | riot | jewish | jew | wales | 

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Taglines:

Their tragedy was to fall in love.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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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

Each scene was filmed twice; once in English then again in Welsh so that a Welsh language version of the film could also be released.

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Quotes

Solomon Levinsky: You pray to your God. And I'll pray to mine.

User Reviews

Loved it

This was a classic case of the Romeo and Juliet syndrome. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is moving such as this movie was. Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, and Soloman and Gaenor are of the three favorites of mine in this genre. The ending of Soloman and Gaenor is saddening. The most moving scene, though also troubling, was when Soloman fought with Gaenor's brother...."Where's Gaenor?"...his famous line as he got the crap beat out of him. It was brave and stupid at the same time. A good love story. 7 out of 10.