THE GEM & CENTURY THEATRES

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HOLOCAUST FABLE

from page 79

NOVEMBER 17
THROUGH
DECEMBER 31

The Purple Rose Theatre Company Production of

"Yoop it up. for Escanaba,
a Gem of a comedy."

-Michael H. Margolin,
Detroit News

"Some comedies have laughs
by the dozen. Escanaba has
them by the gross."

and I — could see all the traditions
that my grandmother respected, so
we learned that way. We didn't grow
in the beginning in a very Orthodox
Jewish religious family and
ambiance. I discovered that later.

-Martin F. Kohn,
Detroit Free Press

A Hilarious Comedy

BY JEFF DANIELS

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[not to make another] film by a
Jewish guy about the Jewish people for
the Jewish people. I wanted to trans-
mit our memory and our story to
everybody — not to put the film in a
ghetto.

JN: Were the communist characters
JN: Did wanting to become more
in the film a nod to your parents?
religious put you in conflict with
RM: It was a tribute to my story
your parents?
and my parents' story. I grew up in
RM: No, never. Even today, I am not
Ceausescu's Romania at a time when
religious in the Orthodox way. I'm very
half the planet — the
concerned about the
USSR, China, part of
story, the story of my
Above: Radii Mihaileanu,
South America, Cuba,
people, and I take more
right,
on
the
set
of
"Train
part
of Asia — were
the Torah and the
of
Life":
"For
me,
humor
that
kind of fake
Talmud as the story of
is a real weapon."
communism. For me,
my people. I am having a
the real communism,
discussion with some-
what my parents
body, I don't know if it's
fought during the war for, was just
God. I need that discussion.
in the kibbutzim in Israel.
The Jewish people say all the time
the question is more important than
JN: When making Rain of Lift',
the answer. So I have a lot of questions.
were you thinking that remember-
There are not many answers coming
ing this shtetl was a way to reclaim
through, but as long as I can ask ques-
it from destruction?
tions, it's good. I always consider
RM: That was my wish. I did the
myself the next chain of what happens
film for that. Because my frustration
to my family since the beginning. They
today is that I cannot touch the
always gave me that, they always gave
shtetl.
It doesn't exist anymore. When
me the memory of our people.
we were little kids in Romania, we
stopped in the place where was my
JN: Why is French the primary
father's shtetl was. But it's not any-
dialogue in Train of Life instead of
more a shtetl, it's just a little
Yiddish?
Romanian town. He couldn't show
RM: When I was a little kid, I
me where his house was, [or] the syn-
saw Ben Hur, and that movie was not
agogue,
the mikva, the yeshiva.
in Latin. A few years ago, there was a
That's
a big frustration and I always
French film called Me Ivan, You
grew
up
with
that. I want that shtetl. I
set
in
a
shtetl
and
spoken
Abraham,
want to see it and I want to give it to
in Yiddish. I was one of the first peo-
my kids [two sons, ages 8 and 5]. So
ple to see the movie, which is very
one day, I said, "OK, you are a filmmak-
beautiful.
er, you have to re-create it, to rebuild it."
But the problem was the audience
So we built it. If it doesn't exist, it will
was all just Jewish people very nostal-
exist in our imagination at least.
decided
I
gic of the Yiddish language.