Film: Enemies, a Love Story

Part of EJC's Sidewalks of New York Summer Film series: Eastside (Jewish Commons), West Side (come on over!), all around the town, three films that showcase the Jewish experience in New York.

Our second film in the series is Enemies, a Love Story. It's New York, 1949; Herman is an educated Jew married to the gentile peasant girl (Stein) who saved him from the Nazis. Life gets complicated. He's carrying on a turbulent affair with Masha (Olin), a deeply troubled survivor of the camps. Enter his first wife Tamara (Huston), long presumed dead. 'Ten enemies can't harm a man as much as he can harm himself': in its reference to the Yiddish saying, Isaac Bashevis Singer's novel sums up Herman's predicament. A 'fatalistic hedonist' makes for a seemingly unsympathetic lead character, but in this intelligent adaptation, Mazursky (co-scripting with Roger L Simon) conveys emotion without manipulation, sensitively distilling despair and self-hatred, but lifting the mood with dark humor. Philosophical issues are brought into focus rather than generated by the Holocaust, and are examined within the realm of relationships rather than intellectual debate. The performances (from Lena Olin in particular) are perfectly suited to the mood, while period is beautifully evoked in subdued tones and subtly lit interiors.

All Ages, (R Rated, children MUST be accompanied by Parent or Guardian)/Suggested Donation $5-$8

"Enemies, A Love Story is such an intriguing film because it refuses to be tamed, to settle down into a nice, comforting parable with a lesson to teach us. It is about the tumult of the heart, and Mazursky tells its story without compromise. " -Roger Ebert