A Christian boy escapes to Israel from famine-stricken Ethiopia by pretending to be Jewish.
Get the best new trailers in under a minute, including Pet Sematary and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Related News
-
Jewish Film Institute Launches VOD Platform of 35 Titles (Exclusive)
26 June 2015 | Thompson on Hollywood -
The Concert | Film review
17 July 2010 | The Guardian - Film News -
The Infidel | Film review
10 April 2010 | The Guardian - Film News
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Live and Become (2005)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
12 wins & 7 nominations.
See more awards »
Learn more
More Like This
Train of Life
(1998)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
War
Director:
Radu Mihaileanu
Stars:
Lionel Abelanski,
Rufus,
Clément Harari
La source des femmes
(2011)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Radu Mihaileanu
Stars:
Leïla Bekhti,
Hafsia Herzi,
Hiam Abbass
Trahir
(1993)
Drama
|
History
Director:
Radu Mihaileanu
Stars:
Johan Leysen,
Alexandru Repan,
Mireille Perrier
Le concert
(2009)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Music
Director:
Radu Mihaileanu
Stars:
Aleksey Guskov,
Mélanie Laurent,
Dmitriy Nazarov
The History of Love
(2016)
Drama
|
Romance
|
War
Director:
Radu Mihaileanu
Stars:
Gemma Arterton,
Elliott Gould,
Derek Jacobi
Drama
|
Mystery
Director:
Petra Biondina Volpe
Stars:
Luna Zimic Mijovic,
André Jung,
Bettina Stucky
Alias Betty
(2001)
Comedy
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Claude Miller
Stars:
Sandrine Kiberlain,
Nicole Garcia,
Mathilde Seigner
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| 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 | ... | La mère de Schlomo (as Meskie Shibru Sivan) | |
| 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 | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
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
Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Release Date:
1 February 2008 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Live and Become See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, Narrative Award Winner: 2006 See more »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. The Falashas were returned and finally recognized as descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The Israeli secret service carried out the operation on the sly,...See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.Contribute to This Page
Explore popular movies available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
I can only talk in superlatives about this movie. It's so powerful that it takes a second viewing to realize that in fact it's even more powerful... Yes, there is a history lesson in it (Falashas, Middle East, Cold War, Gulf War etc.), and yes, it's an interesting tale about a person whom you just have to think to be real, but more than that, it's so universal in its way of talking about our search for a secure identity... searching for it in a process at the end of which we hope to end up in some nice future at the same time not having forgotten that what was precious in our past. To arrive at that, so much help is needed from good people you can trust, or so much luck, if you want to say it that way... This film will make you realize that and in the process it will awaken in you an overwhelming feeling of respect for human dignity as well.
To Radu Mihaileanu I can only say, continue to give us this good films, please. If it takes years of research as it did in this case, so be it. Oh, and I hope to see all of the actors, too, again some day. How stupid of me, I will, of course, at the third viewing of 'Va, vis et deviens'.