Enemies - The Story of a Love

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Movie
German title Enemies - The Story of a Love
Original title Enemies: A Love Story
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1989
length 119 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Paul Mazursky
script Roger L. Simon
Paul Mazursky
Isaac Bashevis Singer (based on a novel)
production Paul Mazursky
music Maurice Jarre
camera Fred Murphy
cut Stuart H. Pappé
occupation

Enemies - The Story of a Love is an American drama directed by Paul Mazursky from 1989. The script is based on the novel of the same name by Isaac Bashevis Singer and takes many of the dialogues verbatim from the original. The film about a Holocaust survivor was nominated three times at the 1990 Academy Awards, but could not win any award.

action

The Polish maid Yadwiga hid the Jew Herman Broder from the Nazis for three years and thus saved his life. After the end of the Second World War, Broder emigrated to America and took Yadwiga with him out of gratitude. Broder and Yadwiga move into an apartment in Brooklyn. He begins to work as a ghostwriter for the successful Rabbi Lembeck. He believes that his wife Tamara and his two children were murdered in the Holocaust , marries Yadwiga and, in addition to his marriage, has an affair with the Jewess Masha. She lives separately from her husband Leon and lives with her mother in the Bronx. Broder, unlike Yadwiga, loves Masha passionately. Then one day he learns that his wife, who was believed to be dead, is still alive and in New York. Broder meets with Tamara and confesses his marriage to Yadwiga and the affair with Masha. Tamara would consent to a divorce, because of the terrible experiences in the war she cannot imagine ever living with a man again. Broder, who is too weak to part with a woman and actually wants to keep all three women, juggles with three relationships in complete secrecy. The situation comes to a head when Masha believes she is pregnant and Yadwiga is also expecting a child from Broder. Masha is afraid of an abortion and does not want to hurt her devout mother either. She urges Broder to marry, divorces her husband and finds a rabbi who carries out the wedding ceremony without asking many questions. Broder is now married to three women. After a few weeks of marriage to Masha, it turns out that she only imagined the pregnancy. Meanwhile, Yadwiga has converted to Judaism. When there are problems with a manuscript, Broder meets with Rabbi Lembeck in Masha's apartment to discuss urgent corrections. The rabbi likes Masha very much, and the couple is invited to a rabbi's party. There they meet Nathan Pescheles, who happened to meet all three women and knows about Broder's relationship. Pescheles reveals to Masha that Broder is already married to two other women, and Masha leaves Herman. After a few weeks, Masha gets back to Broder. She wants to run off to Florida or California with him. That same night Broder leaves the heavily pregnant Yadwiga. The escape is prevented by the sudden death of Masha's mother. Masha and Broder have no money to pay for the funeral of Masha's mother, the generous Rabbi Lembeck is in Florida for a week and cannot be asked. The desperate Masha suggests taking a lethal dose of sleeping pills to escape all trouble. Broder agrees with everything. Ultimately, however, only Masha's body is found in the apartment. Rabbi Lembeck pays Masha's and her mother's funeral and arranges a hospital bed for Yadwiga. When she gives birth to a daughter, Tamara brings her and the child into her apartment. The women search for Herman Broder through newspaper advertisements, but he has disappeared.

Reviews

The lexicon of international films describes Feinde - The Story of a Love as "excellently played" and "atmospherically dense". Cinema magazine wrote of the film: “Great cinema. Funny, sad and paradox ”.

Awards

Enemies - A Love Story was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay category at the 1990 Academy Awards. There were other nominations for Anjelica Huston and Lena Olin , both of whom were nominated for “Best Supporting Actress”. The film was more successful at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards . Olin (Best Supporting Actress) and Mazursky (Best Director) won the 1989 award. At the National Society of Film Critics Awards and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards , both in 1990, Huston won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Tamara .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Enemies - A Love Story in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed January 4, 2012.
  2. ↑ Feinde - Die Geschichte einer Liebe on cinema.de, accessed on January 4, 2012.