While escaping from Nazis during the WWII, a Jewish man dug suitcases full of things dear to his heart in the ground two. The war deprived him of his family, and afterwards he endlessly turns over the soil of Antwerp to find the suitcases, which makes him look obsessed. He keeps checking old maps and keeps digging, trying to find, in fact, those he lost. His daughter Chaya is a beautiful modern girl looking for a part-time job. She finds a place as a nanny in the strictly observant Chassidic family with many children, although her secular manners clearly fly in the face of many commandments. One of the reasons she is accepted is that mother of the family is absolutely overburdened by the household, so she stays despite the resistance of the father, normally - an indisputable authority in the family. She develops a special bond with the youngest of the boys, four-year old Simcha, so far incapable of speaking.
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the audience applauded
hyped garbage
How sad is this?
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
This is a fine example of an excellent Dutch/Belgian co-production which can easily compete with any international successful drama-film. Jeroen Krabbé did a superb job with his directional debut. He himself, as an actor, doesn't have much screen time and gave Isabella Rossellini and especially Laura Fraser the opportunity to really shine in this movie.Laura Fraser plays Chaya, a progressive philosophy student of Jewish origin who lives on her own. She regularly visits her parents but doesn't have a lot in common with them anymore. She takes on a job as a nanny for a very conservative Chassidic family. From the start there are many conflicts, especially with the rigorous father (Jeroen Krabbé), but soon the youngest son, the silent Chimsa, wins her love. All this takes place in Antwerp during the 70's, and in the meantime, a subplot involving Chaya's father's search for two suitcases (lost during the war) develops.It simply is a beautiful story, about a lot of things in fact. The clash between tradition and progression. The questioning of Jewish values. Trying to come to terms with the past (the war, the lost luggage,...). Family tragedies. Those different aspects of the plot blend with each other perfectly. The movie takes its time to tell the story, but it's never too slow.Laura Fraser gives a wonderful performance. She's so enjoyable when she shows she's got spirit, dares to question harsh authority and tries to do what's right for everyone. Did I mention she's beautiful too? And, as opposed to some other viewers, I think the nude swimming-scene was very appropriate as it illustrates the protagonist's progressive state of mind. It's not gratuitous, it's not provoking. It's natural.Jeroen Krabbé's directing is pretty magnificent. Though it's 'just' a drama-movie, there are a few amazing shots to admire: One tracking shot which starts at a window on the top floor of the building, going down several floors and showing our protagonist leaving the building at ground zero. A nice scene at the docks. Beautiful sepia-colored shots in the prologue. An impressive crane-shot at the end.But there are a few minor aspects too. I thought the pathos was a bit too heavy in the slow-motion shot of little Simcha running with the ducks. And the fact that nobody acted against the harassing concierge bugged me a bit too. And Chaya climbing out of the building in order to leave the building was perhaps a bit far-fetched too.But it is one fine movie with a touching story and honest acting performances (though, I think comparing it to Spielberg's SCHINDLER'S LIST is totally misplaced and giving it a little too much credit). But it did encourage me to see more movies starring Laura Fraser and wanting to see Krabbé's THE DISCOVERY OF HEAVEN (which was based on a Harry Mulisch novel).
I wanted to see this when it came out in the late 1990s, but thanks to the ridiculously limited distribution this movie had in the United States, I was unable to do so until late 2005 (it was my first 'netflick'). Be as it may, it was well worth the wait. In short: there was really nothing about this movie I didn't like (except the nudity was not necessary and keeps this from being a movie the whole family could watch) Excellent characters (and I was NOT expecting to like "Chaya" at all!),excellent acting, excellent story teller, wonderful, brilliantly subtle film-making (especially the "window shot" towards the end)...overall, a wonderful, meaningful film that I am quite glad I was finally able to see!
I have just seen this film (October 2001) and strongly recommend it to anyone. What this film offers is a sensitive post holocaust view of European (Belgian) society, particularly centred on the emotional and psychological "baggage" of the "survivors" which succeeding younger generations must sort out and come to terms with. The gradual revelations mostly unfold in the mind and experience of a young Jewish girl whose personal integrity and spunk bring to the viewer a warm and sensitive understanding of the human damage which continues to shape much of Europe today. This film is reminiscent of a similar film, based on Edwin Mulisch's "The Assault" (Dutch experience), which is both a fascinating human mystery story and a document of social realism.
Since I live in Israel, I've seen many films about the Hassidic community, but I've never seen a film that combines two of the heaviest subjects in Israeli society. The connection between the two main woman characters (Chaya and Mrs. Kalman), the connection in silence between Chaya and Mr. Kalman, and most important, the connection between Chaya and Simcha, which was nipped in the bud, we're all magnificently described. It also introduces the viewer to the closed worlds of both the Hassidics and the Holocaust Survivors. Excellent, touching and interesting.
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