Solomon and Gaenor
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Solomon and Gaenor |
| Original title | Solomon and Gaenor |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language |
English Welsh Yiddish |
| Publishing year | 1999 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Paul Morrison |
| script | Paul Morrison |
| production | Sheryl Crown |
| music | Ilona Sekacz |
| camera | Nina Kellgren |
| cut | Kant Pan |
| occupation | |
| |
Salomon and Gaenor is a 1999 British romantic drama directed by Paul Morrison .
action
South Wales in 1911: Solomon Levinsky, a young Orthodox Jew , makes a living selling fabrics. To do this, he moves from door to door as a representative in a small town characterized by mining and offers fabric samples. In order to be accepted, he hides his Judaism. One day, while selling, he meets young Gaenor who works as a housekeeper. He falls in love with her, gives her two swatches, and promises to be back in a week. In the meantime he watches her at the service. The following week, Gaenor orders fabric from him, but gives him back a beautiful red fabric that he had chosen especially for her. He made her a dress out of this material and gave it to her when they meet again. When asked for his name, Solomon introduces himself as Sam Livingston. At a secret meeting, Gaenor puts on the red dress and they kiss before they part for fear of discovery. In the evening Gaenor's father finds the dress; Gaenor claims to have bought it for himself. The mother insists that Gaenor can keep it.
During the service, Gaenor's parents notice that their daughter is now treating the Noah who adores them rather coolly. Gaenor admits she fell in love and introduces "Sam" to her family. He claims that his father travels a lot because he works as an engineer on the railroad. In reality, however, his father runs a small shop and as a glazier, like Solomon, walks the streets of the small towns. Solomon is rejected by Gaenor's father because he only sees him as a small representative. Solomon also realizes that Gaenor's big brother Crad is an anti-Semite. Solomon and Gaenor remain a couple and sleep together in a barn a little later. Solomon secretly takes off his camisole with zizijot , which he wears under his vest.
Gaenor is already thinking of getting married, but is irritated that Solomon does not want to introduce her to his family. The father is always on the move and the mother is sick. Crad, in turn, makes it clear to Solomon that he doesn't want him in the family because he has girls' hands and hardly fits into the working class family. Gaenor becomes pregnant; in Solomon's detachment from his family, she suspects only superficial feelings for them and eventually leaves him. In front of her congregation, Noah exposes her as pregnant and bans her from worship for several weeks. A world collapses for her family: the father demands that Gaenor marry Solomon, while the mother makes it clear that Gaenor does not want this marriage. It is decided that Gaenor should bring her child into the world with relatives and put it up for adoption immediately after the birth. Gaenor is supposed to stay in the house until the birth. Solomon is now refused contact with Gaenor, but he can meet her secretly. He realizes that she is pregnant. Gaenor in turn begins to look for him and finally finds him in a Jewish community. He makes it clear to her that she would never be accepted in his family and that he would be rejected by his family if they were both a couple. However, they become a couple again and plan to escape together.
There is unrest in the area. The workers want to strike, hunger and poverty determine everyday life. Hatred soon turned against the Jews in the area and Solomon's family left their home fearing assault. In fact, a mob around Crad also destroys the Levinsky's business. Solomon is prevented from escaping with Gaenor by his father; he makes it clear to him that otherwise he would be considered dead by the family and the kaddish would be read for him. Solomon is sent to work with an uncle in Cardiff and writes to Gaenor in vain, as all letters are intercepted by Crad. Gaenor, in turn, meets with rejection from Solomon's family; her unborn child is her problem alone. She eventually leaves to live with her relatives to give birth to her child. One day, Solomon returns and, after a fight, manages to get Crad to reveal Gaenor's whereabouts. He goes to Gaenor in the snowy winter and collapses half dead in front of her door. She takes care of him and they both get married in a Jewish ceremony. Shortly afterwards he dies and Gaenor gives birth to her child, which she gives away. She finally returns to her small town with Solomon's body.
production
Salomon and Gaenor was the first feature film by documentary filmmaker Paul Morrison. Even of Jewish origin, the idea for the film came after doing research on Jewish identity in Great Britain for a documentary, researching the history of Jewish life in the Valleys of Wales. Filming took place in South Wales including Cwmparc , Wyndham , Caerphilly , Merthyr Tydfil (Jewish Cemetery), Clydach Vale (Wern Street, Morton Terrace, Adam Street), Nantymoel (Bethel Chapel) and Cardiff . Maxine Brown created the costumes and Hayden Pearce designed the film .
The film was released in UK theaters on April 30, 1999. In Germany, the film was shown for the first time on June 2, 1999 at the Emden-Norderney International Film Festival and was shown for the first time on German television on December 2, 2001 on Bayern 3 .
criticism
“Impressively played and staged,” said the film service . For Cinema the film was a “dark ' Romeo and Juliet ' variant”.
Awards
Paul Morrison was awarded the Golden Dolphin at the Festróia in 1999 . Salomon and Gaenor received an Oscar nomination in 2000 for Best Foreign Language Film . The film won awards for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Design and Best Costume at the 2001 Welsh BAFTA Cymru Awards.
Web links
- Solomon and Gaenor in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Anthony Kaufman: Interview: Paul Morrison, the Therapist-Director of "Solomon and Gaenor" . indiewire.com, Aug 25, 2000.
- ↑ Information according to the film credits
- ↑ Solomon and Gaenor. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Salomon and Gaenor on cinema.de