Hester Street
by Joan Micklin Silver
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carol Kane, Doris Roberts, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Mel Howard, Steven KeatsDirector: Joan Micklin Silver
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Kenneth Van Sickle
Writer: Joan Micklin Silver
Editor: Katherine Wenning
Producer: David Appleton
Producer: Raphael D. Silver
Writer: Abraham Cahan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); Yiddish (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-12-21
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Homevision
Movie Reviews of Hester Street
Movie Review: a splendid film that draws you in and never lets go
Summary: 5 Stars
Hester Street tells the poignant story of Eastern European Jews and the different ways they coped with assimilation to American ways when they arrived in this country at the last turn of the century. The acting is magnificent and the sets were remarkably well done for a comparatively low budget film. The cinematography impressed me and the choreography works well, too. The plot moves along at a somewhat leisurely pace but despite all that I was never once bored; the character development is excellent and the quality of the print is rather good.
When the action starts, we meet Jake (Steven Keats), a young Jewish man from Russia living on the lower east side of Manhattan. Jake has assimilated into American culture quite well; he loves being a "Yankee" and he enjoys the company of women in a dance hall even though he is married to a woman back in Russia. Jake flirts and carries on a loose relationship with both Fanny (Lauren Frost) and Mamie (Dorrie Kavanaugh); and he shares his home with a boarder named Bernstein (Mel Howard) who loves to study the Jewish Torah (the Old Testament).
But, of course, life has its way of throwing things at us. Jake gets news from Russia that his father has died; and for once in a long while he puts on a Jewish prayer shawl and mourns the loss of his father. He also sends for his wife Gitl (Carol Kane) and their very young son Yossele (Paul Freedman) who Jake insists on calling Joey. Gitl and Joey arrive at New York's Ellis Island; and it becomes clear from the word go that things have changed between Jake and Gitl. Gitl wants to lead her new life in American exactly the same way as she did in Russia; but Jake is quite the "Yankee" American who wants to teach his son English and baseball. Meanwhile, there's another huge complication because Jake borrowed twenty-five dollars from Mamie to buy furniture for his new place with his wife, son and their boarder Bernstein. Mamie wants her money back, especially when she sees Gitl and becomes jealous; but Jake cannot repay the loan right away and this makes Mamie furious.
From here the plot can go anywhere. How will Jake and Gitl try to compromise or even completely work out their differences about how to best live life as Jews in America? Will Joey want to learn English and baseball, or will be prefer to learn Hebrew and more traditional Jewish topics from Bernstein? Will Mamie turn up the heat on Jake to threaten his marriage to Gitl? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch and find out!
Hester Street is a fine, engaging movie about what is was really like to come to America at the turn of the last century--especially from the Jewish point of view. I agree with reviewers who note that the scene of Jake walking hand in hand with his son down the street is absolutely wonderful; it's all very well done. You really get the sense of what their world was like; the filmmakers truly accomplish their task. I highly recommend this film for anyone interested in Jewish culture; and people who want to learn about immigration in general would do well to get this film.
Summary of Hester Street
HESTER STREET - DVD MovieHester Street is a delightfully quaint film about the assimilation of Jewish immigrants in America in the late 1800s. Steven Keats is Jake, a self-made Yankee who has shaved his beard and side curls in favor of an updated look. An émigré from Russia, Jake's been living in New York's Lower East Side for five years, taking up with a new woman and earning enough money to support his dance hall ways. To his dismay, his wife, Gitl (played charmingly by Carol Kane), and son, Yossele, join him from the Old World. Jake is embarrassed by his wife, who retains her religious ways, wearing the wigs and scarves that tradition dictates. In turn, Gitl is distraught over the changes in Jake, who insists on calling their son Joey and trying to modernize them both.
Those used to Kane as a comedian will be surprised at her quiet performance in this simple period piece, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award®. Her story, though, is compelling, and in the end, immensely satisfying. The black and white film is rough around the edges--microphones in shots, occasional poor sound--but Hester Street nonetheless offers an engaging look at another time and a completely different way of life. --Jenny Brown
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