Joan Micklin Silver died last week, so I decided to watch her directorial debut. "Hester Street" is based on Abraham Cahan's "Yekl", about Jewish immigrants in 1890s New York. The studios were convinced that audiences wouldn't be interested in a movie featuring a lot of Yiddish. Well, the movie is a fine piece of work. Both a look at the traditions and the hardships that the immigrants faced upon arriving in the US, it's very much a movie that tests your attention span; the polar opposite of a Michael Bay movie.
Steven Keats plays the lead role. His character has lived in New York for a few years until he can make enough money to bring his wife over. In that time, he's made efforts to assimilate into US society. His wife doesn't feel so comfortable doing so. The only other recognizable cast members are Carol Kane (known for plenty of roles, most recently as the landlady on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"), Doris Roberts (of "Everybody Loves Raymond") and Lin Shaye (the sunburned neighbor in "There's Something About Mary" and the retiring flight attendant in "Snakes on a Plane").
All in all, it's an outstanding film. Anyone interested in the history of the Jews in the United States would do well to watch it.
Steven Keats plays the lead role. His character has lived in New York for a few years until he can make enough money to bring his wife over. In that time, he's made efforts to assimilate into US society. His wife doesn't feel so comfortable doing so. The only other recognizable cast members are Carol Kane (known for plenty of roles, most recently as the landlady on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"), Doris Roberts (of "Everybody Loves Raymond") and Lin Shaye (the sunburned neighbor in "There's Something About Mary" and the retiring flight attendant in "Snakes on a Plane").
All in all, it's an outstanding film. Anyone interested in the history of the Jews in the United States would do well to watch it.