Elswet
1986 Romance starring a very young Tom Hanks as an injured U.S. pilot in 1942 Jerusalem who falls in love with a Jewish girl whose family, of course, disapproves. Also starring Cristina Marsillach, and Benedict Taylor.This is quite unremarkable, mildly interesting, with little to offer in the way of amusement, entertainment, or enjoyment. Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone would sit all the way through it unless they are an avid Hanks fan, a film student, or writing a review for it.It's not horrible, the performances are great, but the story itself is quite boring. There are one or two nice vista shots, and Hanks gives a sterling performance, and I had to dig deep to find those two compliments. Otherwise, do yourself a favor, and find something else to do.It rates a 4.5/10 from...the Fiend :.
groundpilot43061
I just happened to be channel surfing when I ran across this lost gem of Tom Hanks. He plays an American (David Bradford) in The British RAF during world war 2. The reason is the US hasn't entered the war yet. He is stationed in Jerusalem and while attending a celebration of sorts meets the love of his life played by Christina Marsillach (Sarah Perrara). It's an incredibly dramatic, romantic, touching, and realistic story of young love in the 1940s. The film focuses in on their forbidden love affair, and Hanks and Marsillach have amazing on-screen chemistry. The characters are remarkably real and raw, as is the storyline. There is no sugar-coated perfect ending, but it's not depressing either. This is one of those rare films that is able to capture at once both the dispair of human prejudices and the optimism of human determination. I highly recommend it even if it is one of Tom Hanks lessor known films.
Amy Adler
David (Tom Hanks) is an American who joined the British forces during World War II. He is sent to Palestine and finds a nice apartment with a doting landlady, although his time in the area may be brief. A close British comrade asks him to come and meet his fiancé at a local outdoor dance. The fiancé turns out to be part of Jerusalem's Jewish community and she has brought a lovely friend with her as well, named Sara. David and Sara each like what they see in the other but Sara is hesitant to get involved with a gentile and a Yankee at that. Besides, she's "sort-of" engaged. Nevertheless, through a series of meetings throughout the city, they grow closer at each tete-a-tete. Will Sara defy her family to realize her great love for David? This lovely story tells of a wartime romance made even more tenuous by a difference in faith. Hanks and his beautiful co-star, Marsilach, bring genuine pathos as well as humor to their roles. The setting is exotic and so is the costuming and Jewish customs and practices of the time. Do you like to smile through your tears when you sit down to experience a movie? This movie holds many treasures for you and your partner to discover.
icemandylan
If you like love stories - I usually don't care for them - you should enjoy this one. This is my all-time favorite movie. Marsillach is the most darling young woman I've ever seen. You might fall in love as I did.David falls in love with a girl he meets in Isreal. She's a Jew and he's not, so her family does everything they can to keep them apart. It's a simple movie with no real plot. It doesn't need one. This may be the only time I can say a movie doesn't need a plot.A really interesting side note is that the girl and her family speak Ladino. It is the Spanish spoken in Spain around 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabel expelled the Jews from Spain. That makes the film a bit of a time capsule, as the language remains unchanged. That made the film infinitely more interesting for me than it might have otherwise been.Great period piece! Great love story!
AD
