****Minor Spoilers****** This movie gets my Thomas Hardy seal of approval. As we know Mr. Hardy was a nineteenth century English novelist who wrote novels about people for whom life was not going to allow a happy ending. Not even close. Whatever could go wrong goes wrong, and then some. Life seems beyond their control; they want to love, be happy, have a life, but it's just not going to happen. They are doomed.
So too are Solomon and Gaenor, the protagonists in this wonderful 'little' English movie. Set in turn of the century Wales, Solomon is a young Jewish peddler, who has recently taken over a new route peddling fabrics in a valley where he isn?t known. Gaenor is the daughter of working-poor Welsh coal miners. They meet and fall in love. But Solomon lives a lie and pretends to be a gentile, not just to Gaenor?s friends and family but to Gaenor also. And he keeps the relationship secret from his own family. I don't have to paint you a picture where this movie is heading.
The cast is wonderful, and it's well worth the rental. Just bring the Kleenex.
So too are Solomon and Gaenor, the protagonists in this wonderful 'little' English movie. Set in turn of the century Wales, Solomon is a young Jewish peddler, who has recently taken over a new route peddling fabrics in a valley where he isn?t known. Gaenor is the daughter of working-poor Welsh coal miners. They meet and fall in love. But Solomon lives a lie and pretends to be a gentile, not just to Gaenor?s friends and family but to Gaenor also. And he keeps the relationship secret from his own family. I don't have to paint you a picture where this movie is heading.
The cast is wonderful, and it's well worth the rental. Just bring the Kleenex.